Chance Immortal
by Kitsune Swift
Summary: We all knew one of us would be the last of our kind. We were a dying race. I just had no idea it would be me. After all, I should have been dead long ago... -Cause we all know how hard it is to kill Screamer. Movie verse-
1. Chapter 1

A/N : So, here's a Transformers fic. The idea actually came rather randomly to me. But I've read a lot of fiction about Starscream having an "immortal spark", and the idea just came to me. I don't think the "immortal spark" was in any of the actual fandoms, but we'll pretend for the sake of this fic, that its a fact.

This is set many centuries after the first movie (in my mind, the second movie never happened, cause though I loved it, it didn't answer any of my questions and just seemed off), so please excuse the slight ooc of Screamer. He's kinda been through a lot.

This is set in the (1st) movie verse, but has elements from all the other Transformers fandoms in here as well. Or at least, most of them. I don't own Transformers, nor the idea of the immortal spark. Just the idea for this story.

Real quick. The aircraft listed below, to my knowledge, do not exist. I made them up on the spot. Please remember, this is set REALLY far in the future, and we obviously don't know what kind of names new aircraft will have.

The war between our kind had ended long ago. It took a while to get the remaining Decepticons to see that the war had been completely pointless to begin with, and now was even more so. But they'd finally caved after the Autobots had taken Shockwave down. My own persuasions actually helped them to make the final decision to form peace among the last of our kind. I'm fairly proud of it.

I had no reason to suspect I was different from any other mech out there at that point. Sure, I'd survived impossible odds and lived to tell about them, most of them being with Megatron, but that was no real cause for alert. But after thousands of years since the fall of Megatron, I soon began to realize I was different. I was not a normal mech by any means. Never had been. I had driven Megatron mad more than what was truly healthy, and always went back for more, regardless of the beating I'd taken.

As I sat by my old friend, his spark pulsing much weaker than I'd like, I smiled grimly at what was to come. I knew he was dieing. He had been for around fifty years. We were truly the last of our kind, and here he was, on his last legs. I felt rather bitter about that for a moment, but I couldn't blame him for my oddity. I hadn't even known about it until age had claimed the others.

Ironhide had been the first of them. He was the oldest mech in the Autobot ranks, and there was certainly no surviving former Decepticon that was anywhere close to his age. Megatron was the only old bot in the ranks, and he'd died centuries before from the cube's exposure at Mission City.

The next to go had been Ratchet, the medical officer. That had been a hard blow as Optimus, the last of the Primes, was not doing well, and Ratchet was rather fun to get along with. We weren't really sure why exactly he passed, as he'd been functioning at optimal levels and had seemed just as youthful as he always had. As a result of his absence, the greatest of the Primes faded to the Well of Sparks. We never got over that blow completely.

I'd watched a few of my former Decepticon breathren fall through the centuries. It hurt the most when my trine-mates had fallen. That was when I realized I was different, though at the time, I hadn't paid much mind to it. My trine-mates were both my own age, and both had died. But there were still a few others my age that were around. It wasn't like we had been ancient at that point... we were actually still in our primes, which was probably why it'd hit me harder than I imagined it would. Barricade and Bumblebee had become like my trine-mates after that. I had begun, through their influence, to hang around the humans more often as well.

We'd followed the Witwicky line down through the ages, being close family friends to them. Bumblebee had been adamant that his friendship with the Witwicky boy had been one to span lifetimes, and therefore had felt it necessary to stay with his descendants. It wasn't so much of a problem really. The humans weren't really as bad as the Decepticons had first thought.

We even had started to help out in our various fields. Barricade worked at the police station, partnered, ironically, with the descendant of Captain Lennox, who had been very surprised when her cop car had told her to take it easy on the brakes. She and him were never separated after that for as long as she lived. I'd taken up flying at the local airbase, though at first everyone had been curious at the out dated F-22 raptor design that was suddenly on their turmac. I'd been offered to change my style, but I never did. Call it nostalgia or whatever. I couldn't bare to part with the design, even if the new models were sleeker and more powerful.

The twins had taken Prowl's death extremely hard. When the old mech had finally passed, we all were quiet for a long while. And it hit me a bit hard when more of my Decepticon brothers died as well. Hook, who'd been a pain in the aft the entire time I'd known him, left a bigger mark on me than I'd ever thought possible.

Wheeljack had been the one to notice the oddity I had. He made a random comment one day about how I hadn't seemed to age at all. All eyes trained on me at that point, and it was true. Even Bumblebee, who was the youngest of us all, was looking older. I was rather stunned and kept to myself for a while after that. Watching our kind slowly die off on a world not our own.

Bumblebee, Barricade and I were the last of us. We were closer than ever before, and they soon truly did feel like my trine. It was sentimental, and I'd never admit it too them. But it wasn't long before I'd considered them as such. They even acted the part, which was strange to me, as I knew Barricade hated to be ordered around, but they looked to me for direction.

Barricade's passing was difficult to wrap our minds around. He'd not shown much signs of age, and he seemed to be performing at optimal level. But everything had happened in a split second, and we didn't even have the chance to say goodbye.

He'd been on patrol with his new partner, a Dave Barret. They'd gone after a break in somewhere, and it'd ended up being a high speed chase. Being that Barricade was no typical police cruiser, he was able to catch up fairly quickly. He'd gotten the other car to halt in his usual brusque way (which meant he rammed the opposing car from the side and made it stop). None of us were aware the offenders in the car weren't working solo and had back up on the way.

A semi-truck barreled down towards them, going the opposite way in traffic. Barricade, who'd been paying attention to his partner, hadn't expected anyone to get past the police borders on the on and off ramps, and had been turning to leave with his partner and those in his back seat. The truck smashed into Barricade's left side, and the momentum kept them going until an SUV (who apparently hadn't been able to swerve in time) rammed his right side.

Barricade had died once we had gotten him home. He'd gone into immediate stasis-lock as his spark chamber was damaged, and had never come back out of it.

It'd taken a long time to get over the shock of losing him for both Bumblebee and myself. Even the shock of losing his partner was fairly crippling to us. Hell, even Bee's current human had been devastated by the news. I believe the two had wanted to get romantic, but had never had the guts to tell each other. Good thing for her sake, as this would have hurt her even more had they been together.

And now, here I am watching my friend struggle to stay in this world. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't affecting me. It was taking all my will power to stay calm. I'd known it was coming. His spark had been fading for half a century. He'd known it was coming too. It wasn't making this any easier for me though. Decepticon pride be damned, this was a blow I honestly didn't think I could ever recover from.

"You know it's gonna be ok Star. Just chill, alright? I'm not gone yet."

"Yet is the key word," I responded quietly, trying to sound emotionless. I would be last of the Cybertronians. We both knew it. Bumblebee was the last of the younglings, meaning any remainders of our race still traveling the stars were lost to the Well of Sparks by now. Worst yet, while I'd watched Bumblebee and Barricade grow older, I never aged. I was still just as youthful as I'd been while serving under Megatron.

"I'll still be here for a while yet. My energon readings haven't hit critical. Why don't you go take a fly with Nick?" he suggested. I admit, flying sounded superb to me right now. I wasn't good under this kind of stress. This kind of stress broke down the walls I'd built eons ago. Flying was one way to relieve it.

"Nick is currently in a meeting, you know that, or he'd be here as well," I answered, again, trying to sound emotionless. It worked, mostly. Bee could tell I was still upset though, as my voice held no power and sounded like a whisper.

"Well, when he gets here, go for a fly. You haven't flown with him in a while, and I'm sure he wants _his_ jet back," he laughed. I couldn't help the small grin that popped up. Nick was an interesting human. Following the Witwicky line had lead us down to him. While Bee had been his "guardian" while he was growing up, the boy had taken a liking to the military and had gone into the Air Force. He'd gained his pilots licence in record time at age 19, and had asked me to be his partner in the skies.

That had thrown everyone for a loop. The military had fallen out of knowledge of us a few centuries before, out of no fault of there own. I flew over oceans to get my fix during those times. No sense in cluing them in we were still here. They'd thought the last of us were the twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who'd passed around 350 years ago.

Imagine everyone's surprise when an extremely outdated F-22 randomly appeared on the tarmac and Nick had told his superior it was going to be his jet of preference. I'd nearly been carted off the tarmac before Nick had hinted at my origin and his superior had left it at that. I was officially back in the skies. Legally this time, too.

"If he wishes to fly, that is fine," I sighed, gazing toward the door. This warehouse was cramped and small for what we had been used too when Barricade had been with us, but it worked for now.

"Good. I'm gonna get some recharge. Wake me up when you get back." I nodded to him as he offline his optics. I wasn't really going to wake him. He needed every bit of energy he could get.

Nick showed up not too long afterward. "Hey Screamer, how's yellow bot doin?"

"He's doing alright for the time being. He's in recharge. How was your meeting?" I asked, ignoring his use of my dreaded nickname. I'd never been able to get that nickname to leave me alone...

"Eh, boring, as usual. They want me to fly a recon mission in Canada. Not that I know why. Canadians are our one major source we can trust right now. I don't know what they expect me to be able to find out there..." he said, giving me a quizzical look. I knew that look. He was asking me without actually asking me if I'd come with him.

Well, of course I wouldn't let him fly in a meager Z-13 with flimsy armor. Especially not with the war going on. "When do they want us ready?"

He grinned largely at me and I felt my own grin come back. I bit back a flinch as I thought about how I would have killed this human the moment he walked in the room back in the day. I couldn't even _think _of doing such a crime now. "They want us to take off at 0800 tomorrow. Expected run time should be about three hours. Unless we find trouble, I doubt it'll be that long. They always forget how fast you are."

"Yes, that is something they seem to be forgetting about constantly. What's the trajectory pattern?"

"Same as normal I guess. Only instead of a simple fly by, we're looking for activity. They wouldn't tell me why the sudden hush hush or why we're suddenly suspecting Canada as an enemy when they've been our solid supporters during the entire war."

"Paranoia is a bit of a problem during war time. Even in times of peace it's always been an issue, for all sentient races."

Nick gave me a sidelong look and I wondered what it was for as he started laughing. He merely shook his head at me in response to my inquisitive glance. Well, that's not the first time he's done that, so I assume it truly is nothing.

"Can we fly today?" he asked suddenly, and I turned to him again. He looked hopeful. I realized then that we hadn't flown together in over a month. Strange, as we normally flew every day. Perhaps that's why Bumblebee's position is rattling my nerves. I nodded with a smile and he "whooped" before taking off toward where he kept his flight gear.

"I think you just made his week," Bee's voice said from behind me. I turned to him, glaring. "What? It's hard to stay in recharge when I'm hearing things like flight patterns."

"I assume so," I said quietly and Bee made a sighing noise. "The boy does seem to be very into these recon missions. He really should be more careful. In the middle of a war, a simple recon can turn into a deadly dog fight."

"He's only 21, you think he's gonna care? Besides, he's the safest kid in the universe in the air. He's got a Cybertronian jet fighter for a plane, so I don't think he has much to worry about."

I sighed as well, knowing he was right. I would take a lot of fire power and a stroke of good aim to the wings and thrusters to get me down, and I'd be damned if I'd allow that to happen.

"Ready?" Nick asked, coming from the changing area. I nodded, saying a quick good bye to Bumblebee as I moved toward the entrance and shifted to my alt mode. The canopy hatch stayed up as I waited for Nick to get settled. He pulled it down when he was ready, telling me to fire up my engines and taxi out to the tarmac.

We stayed on the base, more out of the reason we had no desire to go to the old base and face memories, and we had nowhere else to really go. I was Nick's air partner anyway and he was assigned to this base in Washington state, so we just ended up being his tag-alongs.

"Goin for a quick stretch, eh Nicky?" I inwardly flinched at the voice coming through the speakers. I hated this control tower worker. His voice was higher pitched and more scratchy than my own, and he didn't speak to either of us very respectfully. In fact, I think he blatantly didn't believe I could in fact think for myself as he'd more often then not, claimed "what a piece of junk" I am.

"Yes sir, we're just going to check our routine. Make sure we're still up to par." Ah, at least Nick wasn't the only one who hated the man. I rarely hear the sarcastic bite in Nick's voice to the intensity of what it just showed. It actually reminded me of Sam Witwicky's own sarcasm.

"Make sure those systems don't crash. I still don't like the idea such an outdated piece is flying active duty."

I bit back the growl threatening to be aired over the comms. "I could always change my alt mode if that would really make him feel better. But I'd rather show him what this piece of junk can do."

Nick laughed, making sure it wouldn't carry over the comms as well. "Yeah, why give him the satisfaction? Come on, we need to go to runway 3." The taxi to runway three was the longest journey every single time. It was on the other side of the compound, and meant we had to deal with Mr. Screechy's voice carrying over the sound waves all through out.

All in all, not pleasing.

"All right Burnout, move your old jet to the runway and take mark." I growled in frustration. Screechy was annoying to begin with, but when he didn't even acknowledge the fact I could understand him was just plain stupid. Reformation or not, I still had my Decepticon ferocity and I wouldn't be able to stand him much longer.

"Easy Starscream. We don't want to actually behead the guy," Nick said with a laugh. He knew me well.

"If he doesn't cut it out, I won't be able to reign my anger in," was all I said. Nick chuckled, though he knew I meant it. Wouldn't be the first time I'd killed a human for annoying the slag outta me.

"Alright Burnout, you're clear to launch."

Finally.

My engines kicked on faster than any of they're "in style" jets could hope fore, and we took to the skies just as fast. I knew that annoying slagger was watching in shock, and it gave me a sense of pride. Nick only laughed.

Primus, I hadn't flown in what felt like eons. It felt good to be tearing through the sky, feeling the wind on my wings. I hadn't realized just how much it affected me this past month staying grounded. I took a few of my own rolls and dives before I handed the control to Nick.

I was still slightly wary, even after all this time, to hand my controls over to a human.

"K Screamer, I think we should just stick easy. There's a D-10 floating around here somewhere, and my buddy Tops is flyin it. I say we go find him and play dog fight." Sounded good to me.

D-10s were the modernized version of my current alt mode. They were slimmer, more powerful, slightly faster and were able to hold more ammo. They were the model I loved to be pit against, only because it was a fair trade off. Or as fair as it could get having a living jet on your tail. Even if said jet is a thousand years and more outdated...

I knew Tops. He was a lot like Epps from the Autobot's band of friends in Mission City. Tops was playful, knew his stuff and was an admirable pilot. He visited with us often enough and was almost a brother figure for Nick.

We found him fairly easily, and began to tail him. He automatically switched into fight mode and was trying to get us in his sights. Not that I'd let him. "Nicky! I didn't know you were flying today," he said conversationally over the radio. Nick laughed and had me turn in a sharp right.

"Yeah, getting back in the air again. Got a recon mission tomorrow morning to Canada. Gonna be grand ole fun."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. I wonder what's going on over there to make us have to recon. Seems weird to me." I shot down in a nose dive suddenly, taking Nick and Tops by surprise.

"Starscream??" they both asked in unison and I held back the chuckle that formed as I twisted out of the freefall and shot off over the ocean waters. I really had missed flying a bit to much, and I needed to fill my fix of it before I could concentrate completely. I knew Tops was tailing us, and I knew he'd be able to catch up fairly easily considering I wasn't going too fast.

I shot upward to be above the clouds, making sure I kept the cabin pressurized correctly. I didn't want Nick to black out or have a massive headache. Nick laughed at me as I was "playing" in the clouds. I admit, I was "playing", though if anyone said it out loud I'd probably shoot them will my cannons. Tops, I realized, was laughing too as he tried to keep up with us.

"Screamer, a little warning next time would be nice," Nick said, still laughing. I merely barrel rolled for a response.

It ended much too soon in my opinion. We landed on the tarmac not fifteen minutes later, and the cool down process began. I really hate the cool downs. I was perfectly capable of cooling my engines and cleaning myself. I didn't need the humans assistance at all. But it was apparently required, and I had no choice but to let them do so.

Nick "drove" me back to the warehouse when they were done. He had to dodge a few mechanics, who were still pestering him about looking me over, but we got there fairly easily compared to normal. Tops joined us not much longer later.

I shifted to my bipedal form and made my way to Bumblebee, who was still in recharge it seemed. His visor was over his optics and he was laying at an odd angle, and I had to wonder just how he'd fallen asleep like that. I moved him to a more comfortable position before I sat down and watched him.

Tops and Nick came out not long later and joined me after I'd scooped them into my hand, a habit I'd picked up from the Autobots. Both of them were used to it by now. For now, we all just watched him quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N : Thanks for reviewing guys! I took AnSionnach's advice and watched the Beast Wars episode (and promptly started laughing at how cheesy my favorite show really is), and so now I know for sure the Immortal spark is cannon. It is a bit different here, as this is mostly movie verse, but I'm sure you guys know that. And I completely agree with you guys. The idea of Starscream being the last of the Cybertronians is extremely depressing to me. Starscream was always my favorite character growing up. So while you guys are reading this and becoming sad/depressed or even start crying, know I'm in the same boat while typing it. But for a while (dunno how long it'll be... could be one chpt, could be 5...) he's not completely alone. He's got Bumblebee for now, until the plot strikes and I feel Bee has to go. I'm actually kinda sad already. My favorite characters are Screamer, Cade and Bee, and Cade's already gone in this. I'm surprised I was able to go through with that! _

_Anyway, go ahead and read the next chapter!_

The next morning found us back on the tarmac, ready for launch.

I didn't want to leave Bumblebee, as his condition had gotten steadily worse through the night, I also couldn't be couped up any longer. I had to get out of there. I had gone an entire month, but just one quick trip through the skies had reminded me that fliers weren't supposed to stay on the ground in close corridors.

So, we sat, waiting for the go ahead from Mr. Screechy via the control tower. Nick was yawning, apparently not having gotten much sleep as normal. He never could sleep when he was looking forward to a mission. It was a dangerous thing, but he would be fine so long as he flew only with me. Just in case he fell asleep mid flight. He knew I'd only chew him out later.

"Gah, I'm so tired. I hate waking up early..." he complained, checking his seat belt as he was trained. He knew it was working perfectly, but I suppose it was ingrained on all pilots to check their restraints multiple times before lift off.

"It really isn't that late," I said with a small chuckle. I know he winced at my voice. It was much too high pitched and scratchy to be a comforting sound early in the morning, even if he'd grown up with it. I honestly wished I could change it, but alas, it was stuck this way, much like Bumblebee's was forever stuck as a mechanical half working voice. Our battle wounds made it such.

"Hey, 0800 is my 0400, ok? It's way to damn early..."

"You are the one who volunteered, even though you knew the time of morning," I jibed.

"Whatever..."

"You got a go Burnout. Fly safe and keep your eyes peeled." Primus I hate that man's voice. At least Bee and I had an excuse. What was his?

"Rodger that, be back soon."

The fly around was great for stress relief. I really wasn't looking forward to touching down on the tarmac again, regardless of my need to check on Bumblebee. Landing seemed like an impending bit of darkness I wouldn't be able to ignore. It was seeming more and more like a bad omen. I decided I'd take as long on this mission as possible and hope the feeling went away.

"Go silent Star, make sure they won't know we're here," Nick said, pulling me into a slight right turn. I quieted my systems as much as I could, making my engines barely make a sound. The only thing I couldn't silence was the sonic boom that formed around us.

I had just turned in the familiar flight pattern we normally took when I picked up a few... uninvited guests making their approach. That was never a good sign, but it wasn't too surprising. There was a jet flying around in their territory in stealth mode. I dived quickly, startling Nick. "Starscream? What's goin on?"

"Bogeys coming up behind us," I said. I had to laugh, even to this day at the sound of human lingo coming from my vocal processor. It was strange and probably always would be.

"Great. And from the signatures you're giving me on radar, those are Canadian Hawks. I have a feeling their going to be giving us more than just an air race type show... Fly as fast as you can Star."

No problem there. I flew us in evasive maneuvers as they gained and fired upon us. That was something I should have expected. They were after all, a military elite flight group. But why they'd send the elite group to gang up on a scout was beyond me. Not that it mattered. They could try all they wanted, but they'd never be able to bring me down.

Looks like the recon wasn't going to last very long after all.

When we got in range while we shot over the border, I opened a channel with the command tower, wincing at the screechy voice on the other end asking why we were coming back so soon. Nick flipped his com on and spoke, "We ran into some trouble. We got a few bogeys on our tail and they ain't friendly. Requesting backup."

We didn't need the back up, but whatever. If it made Nick feel better, he could have his friends in the air. He turned us in a sharp turn, facing us back on the offenders and readied me for attack as he would a normal jet. I had a bit of extra fire power however, and I brought the guns located on my wings out, aiming them of my own accord. As soon as he pulled the command trigger, I let the shots loose, making sure to hit two of the slaggers that were firing on us.

The other six didn't like that much and turned much more aggressive. The attack formation grew tighter and they followed us much stronger than they had before. I twisted in a barrel roll in an attempt to deflect the bullets slightly. Much as I'm a tough alien robot who can take hits, those bullets hurt like a slagging son of a bitch.

Nick brought us into a nose dive, and I caught us just before hitting the top of a residential house, twisting and taking off toward the signals I was getting from our back up. Tops and a few others were on there way. I watched the stray fire hit the neighborhood below us, causing the people who'd been enjoying a normal Wednessday morning to scatter in fear.

Humans had no regard it seemed for their own species. Not that I should be one to talk... The Decepticon army blew up many of the civilian and neutral cities back on Cybertron. I'd even headed one or two of them.

"Good God Burnout, you and Screamer can't stay out of trouble for a single mission, can ya?" we heard Tops say as he engaged the guy who'd been on my tail since we'd left the Canadian border. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved to see him. That fragger had been hard to shake.

"Yeesh, you wouldn't believe the welcoming committee. We took down two of 'em already. Can't believe they were stupid enough to follow us over the border though. They know we don't attack unless provoked. Following just gave us a reason to shoot 'em back," Nick replied, twisting us toward the sky.

"Ya, plus they know our scouting routes. They knew this was still classified a typical run. They are obviously hiding something if they send these guys after a single scout."

"Act of war against the United States. The first the Canadians have ever done against us," one of the other pilots said as he shot down another Hawk. I didn't know that one judging by the vocal tone. Interesting. I thought I'd been introduced to all of the pilots.

"Yeah, well..." Nick mumbled, confusion lacing his tone. So he didn't know the pilot either? Strange...

It wasn't long before the Canadian Hawks retreated. They only had about 4 of the original 7 they'd started with. Which was surprising to me. I don't think there's ever been a time I've let my targets get away.

Maybe I was getting old.

When we touched down on the tarmac, we could all tell the superiors were not thrilled with the news. Before the cool down procedures began, General Toste came down from whatever office he normally resided in and confronted all of the pilots and myself. It was strange to me. Last time I'd been actually included in a debrief had been when Nick had politely told the General to frag off after he'd tried to get me off of his tarmac during my initiation over three years ago.

"What happened out there?" was the first thing out of his mouth after the pilots had finished unhooking various pieces of their flight uniforms. Everyone present looked at Nick and subsequently myself, as Nick was settled on my right wing.

"We weren't even a quarter of the way through the recon mission before the Canadian Hawks were suddenly tailing us. They didn't fire on us until just before the border, prolly trying to get us to engage. We didn't actually return fire until the request for back up was made and we were on our soil."

The general then focused on me by looking at the cockpit area. "Were you able to get anything from their coms?"

Well, that was new. I was never asked something directly. The unfamiliar pilot was giving the general a strange look, and I wondered whether or not I should speak infront of him. The general seemed to notice my lack of answer and turned questioningly to Nick. Nick leaned forward, giving a piercing glare at the new pilot.

"Who are you?" he asked, none to politely. Ah, he was sounding more and more like me everyday. The general turned to the newbie as well, giving a surprised look of confusion.

"I'm a transfer. Ltn. Baker reporting. General Wilson assigned me here three days ago."

"Ah yes, sorry ltn, I'd forgotten to give word to the other pilots there would be a newbie in the ranks. Anyway, coms. Did you get anything?"

I almost laughed at the ltn's expression of surprise and worry as the general was looking back at me. He had much to learn. "I didn't hear of anything specific. The order to attack came just before the Hawks were on our tails." Nick laughed at the startled look on the new pilot's face, and I was hard pressed not to make a snide comment in response. "There was no chatter before hand either. I'm uploading a copy to both you and the command tower's communications annalyst.

"W-What? Is that thing talking?"

Everyone was grinning, trying to keep their expressions low profile while Nick was happy just laughing from his perch on my wing. It always was fun revealing my intelligence to unsuspecting humans. Now I knew why Barricade loved it so much.

"Uh, yes," the general seemed to only remember now he hadn't properly introduced us yet. My this was fun. "Ltn. Baker, this is Starscream. I'm sure they had it in your OTS history books the events that happened in the 2000s? Mission City was a big deal I seem to remember."

Baker nodded slightly, looking like he'd be sick. I grimmaced. Organics and "being sick" was never fun. "I... I thought the aliens mentioned were all gone sir..." The general gave us a withering look.

"That's what I thought ltn. But, apparently, that's not the case."

"I was wondering why there was an old fashioned F-22 in action sir... I'd honestly thought that was a bit crazy. F-22s haven't been used since the 2000s," Baker said, cautiously walking over to me and tentively placing a hand on my fuselage. I twitched slightly, still not liking much contact, especially from humans I didn't know.

"Boo!" I said, making the pilot jump back. Nick laughed even harder, and Tops was soon joining him. "I assure you, I'm not the typical, "piece of junk" everyone refers too around here."

"Why don't you transform Starscream, so he doesn't freak out if you do in a battle. Not like everyone else around here doesn't know," the general stated with a small grin. I had to wonder about the truth of that statement, but whatever.

Nick jumped down from my wing, and I shifted to my natural form. Most of the pilots were still in a state of awe, having not spent the time around me as Nick and Tops normally did. But the expression on Baker's face, Primus, even the general's own expression, was just plain out priceless. I crouched down as Nick moved back toward me, not so ready to give up his seat. I offered my hand and he crawled up and turned around, watching the others.

"Holy... Wow. That's... Incredible."

"Normal. Just rarely seen," I said, wincing at my voice. I really wished I had a medic around to look it over. It was much higher pitched that it used to be. Nick gave me a sidelong glance, making sure I was alright.

"Still... I honestly didn't believe a word of the story that chapter had outlined... And here's the proof of it. I just, wasn't expecting it. But, why an F-22 Raptor? Surely you'd want to upgrade..."

"Not ready to let it go just yet. I still haven't found any reason to change forms. My form is just as powerful as its ever been. I don't need to try anything new just yet. Though, in the old days, I would have loved these designs much more. They're much closer to what we had on our home world." With good reason. All of the testing they did with Megatron back in the day was sure to lead to a major similarity at some point in time.

The meeting didn't last much longer than that. After the cool down procedures, which were basically unneeded at that point, even by human standards, Nick and I moved toward the warehouse Bee and I had claimed our own. Nick left once we got to the entrance, having to go to a debrief concerning the battle. Which didn't make much sense, as I'd assumed that's what we'd just had... Oh well.

I moved inside, closing the warehouse door behind me as quietly as I could. A soft humming reached my audio sensors and I hid a soft grin that wanted to break through. Bumblebee had been bored it seems and was playing old sound bite tracks from a time so long ago. Whether he was awake or not currently was a question on its own.

I moved toward him quietly, not wanting to disrupt his recharge if that was what he was doing. The soft chuckle startled me, and only the many many centuries of Decepticon training kept me from actually jumping. "You should be in recharge, slagger," I said quietly, ignoring his smug expression. He knew what he accomplished.

"I actually just came out of it about ten minutes ago. Have fun?" he was actually sounding awake. Much different from the past week where recharging constantly left him still drained. Maybe he'd actually stick around longer than I'd expected. Then again, perhaps I just "jinxed" everything. Would be just our luck...

I shook myself. I had to stop thinking like that. It was his life at stake and here I am making jokes about it. Even if they were crude jokes.

"Oh yes. Such a joy it is to have inferior earthling jets try their best to shoot you down during a simple and routine recon mission. Idiots were dumb and fired first, following us into US soil and ended up calling a retreat," I said with a small amount of sarcasm. The shocked look I recieved told me Bee was was just as surprised as everyone else. I must be the only one not taken unawares... Oh well.

"Canada wants to war with the US? Really? That doesn't make much sense! I mean, what'd we do to piss them off? They're like the most neutral country in the world at this point!"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But the slaggers came out of nowhere to attack a single recon scout. And it was one of their best squadrons. Strange, eh?" I said sarcastically. It didn't bother me much. It could be worse...

It could be nuclear warfare like in 3050. If it weren't for that invention Wheeljack and Ratchet had come up with not 200 years previous, the globe would be a nuclear wasteland today. But as it is, the nuclear shields worked perfectly and the world put the nuclear designs deep in storage, never believing them to see the light of day again.

So now it was back to basic combat and such. Fun for me. Not so fun for those on the opposite side.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Not so many reviews that time... Oh well. So, here's a quick update. It's slightly longer than the last chapter, though I still think its a bit short. So, the plot slightly thickens in this chapter. Everything that happens, is happening for a reason, and will be explained through out the story. I hope it makes sense though... I tried to answer a few questions I got from the last chapter within the text, though I'm not so sure it's flowing right. Please, let me know if you have questions!_

World tensions continued to grow deeper through the course of a mere week. It always amazed me how quickly things got out of hand on Earth... Cybertron issues never happened as fast as this planet's own... The Great War itself had taken the better half of a human century to actually be put into motion... Megatron's plans had gained ground even then in record time for a people that had been nothing but peaceful for most if not all of their existence.

Canada had made their position in this war fairly clear. They didn't believe the US to be in the right. I couldn't argue either point, but I had a feeling there was more to this than the leaders of either country were letting on. Perhaps it was my general distrust after working under Megatron my entire life, or perhaps it was my cynical mind reading too far into things... but I had the distinct impression we were being lied too.

The way General Toste would include me in meetings more and more often, then watch me all through out was unnerving. The way none of us could come up with reasons that would stick as too why Canada switched from the most renowned neutral power in history to suddenly being at arms with us was frustrating. Whenever I hacked the network (I was able to slip in easier than Blackout or Frenzy had done so long ago as I had easy access to military networks and finding those pass codes were simply a matter of knowing your way around the alarms), I couldn't find anything pertaining to Canada and the current war.

Honestly, now that I was digging through files of confidential and Top Secret importance, I realized, I didn't have any sort of clue as to what this war was about. None, whatsoever! It was crazy that that had slipped past my notice. The war had started not long after I'd followed Nick into this military career, and somehow, the cause had never been mentioned. Anywhere.

If that wasn't suspicious, I didn't know what was. And I am fairly positive I know suspicious, after being a Decepticon for as long as I'd been.

Bumblebee was watching me quietly as I internally sifted through various files, trying my damnedest to figure this whole thing out. It seemed every time I went into the network, I came out with more questions than I'd gone in with, and it irked me. My old scientist curiosity was literally pounding at the work going through my processor, trying to solve the puzzle. I'd been trying to do so through the entire week.

"Starscream, I think you're obsessed..." Bee stated with a weak chuckle. I glanced at him, narrowing my optic shudders in a mock glare. He merely grinned back at my feigned attempt to play the scary Decepticon as I used to do as a team with Barricade. Those days... I missed having Barricade around to team up with. Teasing Bee had been so much funner back in those days...

"I'm not obsessed... I'm just mildly curious."

"Sure... if you say so. You've been going through private military documents for the better half of two days. What's got you so curious anyway?" he asked, and I realized I hadn't explained my doubts about the war to him. Well, that was smart of me...

"Bumblebee, do you remember when the war started?" it was such a seemingly innocent question. It could have been taken in any way shape or form. But the sudden suspicion that clouded my friend's features told me he understood, even if only a small amount, where I was going with this.

"Kinda... You were out with Nick when you were called back to discuss a development concerning one of our overseas bases."

"Yes, but do you know what started it?"

"An attack on the Spangdalem US base. If I remember correctly, British and Islamic forces bombed the area in a deliberate attack on us," he said it so quietly I could barely hear him. Just the combination of attackers had been strange. The British, aside from Canada, were our allies and the sudden pairing with the Islamic Nations was overall strange. The entire thing had been unbelievable and it wasn't until Nick and I had seen the damage for ourselves that we'd believed what we'd been told. There was traces of both forces in the rubble.

"Yes, but do you remember a cause?" I watched him shake his head, his optics focusing on the far wall. "That's because they never gave one. Not a single government has stated anything about a cause for war. There was no warning, there were no demands. It just happened."

If there was one thing I knew about the human race and war tactics, it was that wars didn't start for no reason. There was always a trigger, and there were always demands. Every single one had followed that code, except this one, and I was ashamed I hadn't picked it up earlier. I hadn't been paying attention it seemed... but now I was, and I wanted answers I apparently was going to be denied.

Bumblebee had always hated war. He hadn't liked war for as long as I'd known him, and probably from even before that. He hadn't understood the war between Autobots and Decepticons... a war that had started before his creation. And every human war we lived through only served to confuse him. He couldn't understand the need to fight. This was bound to throw him even more.

"If that's the case, why is the entire world in on it?" he asked and the confusion and frustration was easy to pick up in his tone.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. But it seems any file listed about anything regarding the war have been specifically quarantined and I can't figure out where they would be. This war, as for the lack of reasoning, is apparently more pointless than the war that destroyed our world," I growled, tearing into a new set of data in the systems I was currently hacking.

"Not a single country has explained their actions?" Bee quietly asked, after a minute and I shook my head, my air intakes blowing out a burst of air in a form of human sighing. I paused and thought about the action. So many years of observing the race, and I hadn't noticed I'd picked up a few of their traits. Interesting.

"Not one. The way war has been instigated in all senses, is just a series of well planned attacks. There was no warning proceeding any attack, and there have been no demands. And, I've noticed, every single country involved against us, have only attack us. No other country but the US is under the scrutiny of war. And all of our normal allies are starting to turn to the other side for seemingly no reason. It doesn't make any sense."

"Why would they start a war like this?" Bumblebee asked quiet enough that I realized he hadn't meant for me to hear him. He was mulling over the new development as curiously as I was.

"Hey guys!" Tops' voice broke through the room and we both turned in time to see him and Nick walk in confidently. They both held cups of coffee in their hands and were looking all the more like they'd just woken up, regardless of the fact it was 15:00. Both boys had a similar hair style of "sticking up in all the wrong ways" as an old commercial had once stated. They also both sported strange clothing for base operations.

"You guys missed a really fun day at the beach!" Nick exclaimed with a very large grin. If it weren't for the fact I'd seen the expression on him millions of times, I'd swear he'd pass out from the force he put into the smile. Really, it was amazing he hadn't fainted from delirium or something considering how happy he seemed.

"Was it fun?" Bee asked, a playful gleam in his blue optics. He was thinking along the same lines I was. The boy was absolutely a mystery to us.

"Hell ya!" he and Tops exclaimed in unison. I had to wonder if these two were supposed to be twins born to separate parents. They acted an awful lot like the twin terrors of the Autobot faction.

"It was incredibly nice to just chill. This whole war thing really took its toll on us humans..." Nick said after a moment, "Got to look at some ladies and chill while eating greasy food and sitting in the sand."

"And being thrown in the water by said girls, getting sand in places God never intended sand to be and laughing our asses off at each other," Tops cut in, dodging a smack from Nick as he ruffled his dark brown hair (which apparently had a bunch of sand in it, as a bunch of it cascaded to the floor). Both Bee and myself chuckled at them. It was nice to see the boys happy... It always would be. They were still only kids... Being 21 was hardly old enough to handle the war... that seemingly had no real reason...

Damn. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep my processor from the underlying question that was now plaguing me. I couldn't escape my scientific questioning, and it seemed it had locked onto the subject of war. This would be oh so much fun... Who knew when I'd get the answers I was dying to get...

"So, how's it been going here?" Tops asked, leaning against the wall nearest Bumblebee. Bee merely glanced at him before turning his optics to me, silently asking if we should tell them this little development. I minutely shook my head. The didn't need to know something like that. They wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway. It wasn't their call, but their superiors, and I'd be sure to bring the topic up with General Toste next I was able to corner him.

But the kids didn't need to know anything.

"It's been going... Been bored, so we both were surfing the web," Bee said. It was true in a sense that that had been what we'd been doing... But it was still a half truth and I suddenly realized we'd never lied to them before. I was a good liar and had lied the better part of my life, but... now, the thought of lieing to either of these boys was a strange concept I didn't know I wanted to acknowledge.

So I kept quiet.

"Oh, hey, Star," Nick suddenly said, bring all attention to him, "Toste gave orders to do a drop. We'll be headed to Canadian Air Space in three days." Well that was something I didn't really want to hear...

Going to war with Canada was probably the stupidest move we could make. They are our neighbors and have been neutral since... well, basically forever. If only I could figure out what the other countries were after! Then maybe this would finally make sense!

"You ok Star?" Tops asked, giving me a strange look at my prolonged silence. Oh yeah, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just over thinking this whole thing. Nothing to worry about at all.

"I'm fine," I grumbled, avoiding Bee's knowing look. "Just not looking forward to the bullets that are bound to be coming at us..."

"Well, we'll be there as back up this time. This ain't no solo mission. We go as a team," Tops said quickly, puffing his chest in a typical human fashion. He was proud he was going to be sent into battle, just as the Decepticons had been so very long ago. Nick laughed at the pose, and Bee merely grinned before off-lining his optics so he could slip into recharge.

"How many is this team going to be?" I asked, trying to forsee the events that were bound to happen. As soon as we got into Canada, the Hawks or an equally powerful group would be there to attack and we'd be hard pressed to get to the drop spot... which hadn't been told to me, "And where are we going?"

"We'll be dropping just passed Vancouver. There's apparently an airbase there the bigwigs want to take out while they have the chance I suppose. And its gonna be Tops, Spinner, the new guy Bates and Bubbles. They'll all be in D-10 Dragonflies, so they'll stay with us fairly easily."

Well, that was comforting. At least I'd be covered. I had a feeling I was the one who was going to be dropping the scrambler on the base, meaning I'd be needing to avoid being hit at all cost. A hit with a scrambler aboard was dangerous and could completely paralyze me. It was the reason I was chosen mostly to do these types of drops whenever Nick had been sent out overseas. I could out manuver any of the crafts if I was on guard, and instead of being completely blown up, I'd just be knocked down for a while.

I'd always been picked up fairly fast by our guys, too, so it gave me a small boost of confidence.

Not that I'd allow myself to be hit of course.

I sat back and allowed myself to drift off a bit. I was caught somewhere between recharge and awareness and it was a strange sensation. I could hear the kids chatting, but it sounded muted and far away. My thoughts were blurring together and forming incoherent ideas that didn't make even the remotest of sense. And yet, I could think about how strange my thoughts were just perfectly.

I felt like I was floating. Or maybe spinning. I just knew it didn't feel like a normal recharge, nor did it feel like I was actually flying. It was deffinately abnormal and I didn't know what exactly to make of the sensation.

A loud beeping intruded my thoughts and the spinning feeling intensified, throwing whatever part of awareness I had off balance and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Thoughts of the war and memories were springing up all around me, and suddenly my optic sensors were blinded.

Then, as fast as it had begun, the sensation and the whirling thoughts in my head stopped.

What the slaggin pit was that all about?

I blinked into awareness, completely confused and disoriented. I couldn't move for a moment, feeling like room had flip flopped, leaving me sitting against the wall in fear I might fall over suddenly. I could have sworn I was on the other side of the room when I'd sat against the wall.

"Star, are you alright?" Bumblebee's voice jolted me and I ended up completely losing the precarious balance I'd somehow kept upon waking up against the opposite wall, and I fell over with a loud thump. My wing protested the angle and pressure and I bit back a groan of pain in response.

"I'm fine... I think..." I said with a wince I knew he'd see. I didn't try to hide it. My wing was aching, and I still felt disoriented. He was watching me concerned, and I felt a bit guilty for possibly waking up.

"You were thrashing around and muttering something... But it didn't make any sense. Care to explain?" his tone was even and soft.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked instead, my own voice just barely above a whisper. I honestly didn't know how to explain what just happened. I'd never experienced something like that. It was a bit disconcerting...

"No... The kids woke me when they left. They were worried about you, though they couldn't stick around. You wouldn't wake up..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry anyone," I said evenly, pulling myself upright. I felt like I'd just gone through a training session with Megatron... My systems were drained and sluggish. And my frame ached like never before.

"Star, what was that? I've never seen you act like that before..." his tone was laced with worry, and I glanced at him, trying to assure him through our locked optics that I was fine.

"I don't know. Prolly just a bug my systems were trying to get rid of," I said with a joking tone. It occurred to me how much being away from Megatron changed me. I wasn't the sniveling coward I'd been before... If this had happened back then, I'd have rushed to the medbay and demanded a check up. Now, I merely downplayed something that was possibly serious...

"Alright..." Bee trailed off, shifting in his space slightly. He was losing energy at alarming rates now... I couldn't help the depressing thought that soon he wouldn't be here...

I don't know exactly how I felt about the whole thing. I didn't want to lose him, for more than one reason. I don't know if I'll be able to handle being the last of the Cybertronians... and... if I couldn't age... how would I join them in the Well of Sparks? Primus can't be that cruel to leave one of his children alone like that... would he? I mean, sure, I've done a lot of things I've come to regret... but I didn't think I was evil enough that even Primus wouldn't want me... That should be Megatron if anyone...

The thought scared me more than I was willing to admit... and Bumblebee knew it. He never said anything, but I knew he knew. It was a knowing look he'd give me off and on. We never spoke of it... but he knew.

"Go to sleep Screamer," he said with a yawn, and I bristled at his use of that name. I let the humans get away with using it, simply because I called them by their rediculous code names (some of which I myself had come up with, such as Bubbles code name). I'd allowed the Decepticons to call me Screamer, because it was better then Star when passing through the halls. But Bumblebee had never really called me Screamer since I'd come to join the Autobots. He'd always just used Star or Starscream. And I felt a bit of resentment toward the name...

And I didn't know why it mattered so much. It was a nickname I'd grown used too... So why was I suddenly afronted by the name? That didn't make any sense...

So I ignored the feeling, said goodnight to Bee and slipped into a restless recharge.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N : I've got a few chapters on the way. I'm up to number six currently, and they're all waiting to be uploaded! Yay for that! Anyway, go ahead and read the next installment._

I came out of recharge feeling no better than when I'd gone into it.

Bumblebee was still out of it, but that was no surprise. I peered at him silently, watching as he shifted here and there throughout the morning. As I watched, I thought of the past and what we'd used to do when Barricade was still in recharge.

Barricade had been hard to wake up most of the time. He had taken a liking to the human teenager sleep schedule, so instead of waking up whenever we did, he'd claim he needed the sleep in order to function better throughout the day. Bee and I had eventually gotten tired of the excuse and being ignored for most of the day and had sprayed him with water. That had gotten him up fairly quickly, though it took about a month before he'd began to change his cycles.

Bee mumbled something and I gave him a strange look. He wasn't known for "sleep talking" like Barricade or the twins had been. Hearing him even make any sort of noise was always strange in the middle of a recharge.

"Star?" I glanced toward the door at Nick, who had poked his head in through the human door. He looked worried and... frazzled. I shifted wondering whether I should be worried or not. "I think you'd better come outside..."

Well, that was different.

I carefully exited through the warehouse door once I pulled it open and stepped outside. Changing into my alternative mode quickly before I made my way to the tarmac, where we normally had our meetings. General Toste was watching with a worried expression, and I noticed he was flanked by a few other generals as well, and I activated my hologram, making my humanoid appearance sit on my wing, looking bored.

"Starscream, this is General Taylor," Toste stated, glaring at the man to his right. My human appearance glanced at the man, looking slightly interested. Taylor was a short balding man looking to be in his late 50s and he looked like a mean old grouch. Barricade would have loved playing with this one... "Gen. Taylor is going to be my replacement as Base Commander."

Well slag. I actually liked Toste somewhat. "Where will you be headed General Toste?" I asked, speaking through my hologram. Nick was watching my holographic personality with interest as he'd rarely seen it. It was modeled slightly after him, which I'm sure he picked up fairly easily. Only it had black hair rather than blond, with red eyes instead of his amber and was more annoyed than Nick could ever dream of being.

"I'm heading back to Washington for a reassignment. I'm afraid I most likely won't be back. Many of the base heads are being reassigned as well, and these are their replacements," he said, gesturing the men and single woman around him. "Things should continue to run smoothly," Toste actually seemed depressed over this. Taylor looked somewhat proud over the whole thing. I had to wonder what there was to be proud about...

"Things will run better than they ever have, I promise you that General," Taylor sneered. So, the human was proud. Sounds a lot like me back in the day... This is going to be very interesting indeed having two of the same personality types on base. Sure, we have a few already, but none of the higher ups were like me. I bit back a grin of anticipation.

"I'm sure they will sir. Anyway Starscream, I must take my leave. It has been an honor serving with you. You have made this place all the better... Take care of yourself..." Toste said with finality, making my hologram stand up in respect on my wing. He gave me a human salute, and I returned it with the Seeker's salute, which was basically a tilt of the head with our arms out at our sides and palms forward, before he about faced and strode off.

"Right then," Taylor clapped, making a few of the surrounding humans jump. He was looking much to proud of himself. I glared at him silently, already not liking him much. So perhaps he wasn't quite like me... at least to a point. "Come down here Starscream and let me get a good look at ya. I hear your call sign all over the base, and I'm told you and Nick are our best pilots. What's your name and rank son? And why do you have such an antique aircraft on the flight deck?"

My hologram instead sat down on my wing and I almost chortled at the dazed expressions the new humans were giving me. "Designation: Starscream. Seeker Class, F-22 fighter craft," I said through the hologram. Had they not been informed of my true self? Nick was holding in his amusement and my hologram shifted its expression to a similar expression at the blank stares it got.

How fun this would be!

"I'm sorry, what now? What's a seeker class, and what's your real name and rank?" the general wasn't finding this as funny as I was.

"My true name is Starscream, General. If you want my rank, its quite severely outdated... but... Alright, I'll give it to you again. Designation: Starscream, Air Commander, Seeker Class F-22 fighter craft. Believe me, this antique jet is in much better shape than even your D-10 Dragonflies." I watched his eyes widen when my hologram suddenly wasn't doing any of the speaking and had in fact, turned rather blank. It was staring directly in front of it while I spoke.

"W-what? How'd you do that son?" Nick apparently couldn't hold his laughter anymore, and I almost lost it myself. But this was _way_ to much fun to give up now. "And what are you going on about with the Air Commander and Seeker bit? Those aren't ranks or even military aircraft!"

"Please human, spare me your interrogation," I laughed, deactivating my hologram with a shimmer. The new humans all gasped in shock. "I can't believe you wouldn't be informed of me. I'm hurt, honest."

The humans blinked. Nick, now joined by Tops, who'd come to see what the fuss was all about, was almost falling over from laughing. Tops was barely keeping him upright. "What do you mean?" Taylor asked, his eyes narrowing.

"As you probably can tell, I'm no ordinary F-22. Please, at least tell me you remember hearing about the battle of Mission City in 2007?" I asked, watching their eyes grow even larger. Bee was missing the funniest slag...

"Hold on, you're the F-22? I'm speaking to the F-22 right now?" one of the other new humans asked, glancing to Nick. Nick merely nodded before laughing again. He was clinging to Tops like a lifeline.

I chuckled, "Yes. You are speaking to the antiqued pile of parts before you. This isn't such a hard concept to grasp."

"2007? That was a long time ago..." another said quietly, and realization dawned on his features as I watched the proverbial gears turn in his head and he connected the dots. He was stunned to silence.

Taylor glared at me. "How am I speaking to an F-22 jet?"

"I am no ordinary jet. How else?" I replied. I'd have rolled my eyes if I had any. Another human trait. Interesting.

"Alright, then what exactly are you?" he bit out, glaring with all his might. Which was actually quite a bit for such an old man with balding hair. This man was obviously quick to lose his good humor. I'd have to watch him.

"I've already told you, if you would learn to listen. I am a Seeker Class, F-22 fighter craft. I will not repeat myself again."

"And what in the hell is a Seeker Class?" a different new human asked, obviously confused. Poor guy.

I grinned internally. Nick was nodding at me, already knowing what I was planning and he'd stopped laughing just enough so he could watch the expressions on everyone's faces. Even Tops was looking anxious. Who was I to stop their fun? "You really wanna know?" my voice had a distinctly feline sound to it that reminded me slightly of Ravage. Without waiting for an answer of yes or no, I shifted out of my alt mode. Every single one of the humans took several steps backward as my body twisted this way and that.

As the process finished, I locked eyes with General Taylor. "I am Starscream. Seeker Class, F-22 fighter craft. If you'd been paying attention and dug through your memories as _that_ human did," I pointed to the one who didn't appear as lightheaded, "you'd have known just what I was by my words."

"Mission City sir..." the human stuttered, staring at me curiously, "Was the battle of the Aliens. They'd come to our planet and ended up finishing their war here... in Mission City. The old books state the aliens could hide amongst us as cars and planes and such...."

"Yes. We'd come for something of ours that landed here, battled over it, and ended our war," I shrugged, ignoring the humans who looked about to faint. Wasn't really my problem. "We ended up staying here with the ok from your government as we didn't really have anywhere else to go at that point."

"And you're still here? How many more are on the planet?" Taylor asked, his voice a higher pitch. "Are they jets too?"

I felt a pang in my spark as Thundercracker and Skywarp flashed through my memory banks. "There is only one more... He isn't a flier..." I trailed, my thoughts becoming gloomy.

"What is he then? And where is he?"

"He is a yellow car if you must know. He's a slightly newer model than myself, but still antique by your standards. He lives with me," I said, pointing in the general direction of the warehouse we stayed in.

"I'll have to meet him," the general stated and I almost glared at him in spite. I shook my head slightly.

"I'll tell you when you can, General, as he isn't doing well. He requires much rest and is operational at strange hours of the day. I'll let him know you wish to know him however and we'll work from there." For a moment, I thought the general was going to throw a tantrum. His face turned a strange color and he looked about ready to explode. But instead, the man huffed and turned on his heal.

I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting that type of a dismissal. He and Megatron were a lot alike as well. Strange.

Nick and Tops laughed the entire way back to the warehouse. Bee was still in recharge when we got there, so we kept our voices down, though it was hard to do when the boys were mocking the new base leader by making faces and saying dumb things...

Tops skrunched his face up, "Hey look at me! I'm stupid and I can't order my men to do anything! Even my jets disobey my orders!" As he said that, he motioned to me, and I had my hologram "humph" and turn away, playing along. Nick promptly doubled over and Tops nearly joined him. Yes, this new base leader was going to have to problems it seemed...

And I'd be among his biggest.

"Are our orders still the same?" Tops asked, turning to Nick. I noticed the playful atmosphere quickly change to serious. "Do we still have that drop in two days? Or has that changed with the leaders?"

"As far as I know, we're still a "go". Nothing's been said, but then, I literally just found out about all of this as I was scrounging for coffee. I'll find out when I go on duty in two hours." I didn't say it out loud, but I hoped the mission was scrubbed. I still wasn't keen on bombing Canada when there was no known reason for the entire war to begin with. But I'd be damned if I didn't accompany Nick on a possible battle-esque mission.

"I wonder why Toste suddenly got transfered... Normally they tell ya bout that a month before..." Tops mumbled, turning his gaze to the human entrance. "And to replace the entire staff? Something ain't right..."

Well, that was the understatement of the century... This entire thing wasn't right. Not that I said that out loud though. Nick sighed, "Yeah, I know. I wasn't aware Toste had done anything wrong... Or that anyone else did either. It's weird to think the entire leader staff has been replaced..."

"Oh man! Who's gonna be my BINGO buddy on Fridays?" Tops asked with a laugh. My hologram grinned evilly while Nick gave him an incredulous glance.

"I could volunteer Tops..." I said, my voice just barely audible. It gave the desired effect when both humans shivered. Good to see I still had the ability to "creep people out".

"Ah... no thanks man... Specially not with the devil's look about you. Maybe on Halloween, sure, but..." had I frightened Tops? Interesting. My hologram flashed him a half smirk.

"Well, I need to head off to Barracks so I can get ready for the day..." Nick muttered, disdain and annoyance in his voice. "Today is going to be a _long_ day... I don't like meetings, and today is going to be full of them!" Tops nodded, standing and stretching almost in unison with Nick, who had done almost the same at the same time. Only difference was, Nick was interrupted by a yawn.

As the boys left, I hunkered down in my usual place along the wall. I stared at Bee for a moment before I averted my eyes to the far side of the structure, trying not to think. Thinking after all, would lead to memories and nostalgia, or even depressing topics I'd rather not mull over. Instead, I decided to search the web once more.

I hadn't found anything on war in any of the official and semi-official sites, so perhaps if I tried looking at the non-official and conspiracy theory sites I'd find something of use or gain an idea... after all, conspiracy theories were sometimes dead on while the official records were false.

Such as Mission City and the conspiracy theories surrounding it.

As I read over one stating how it was believed dead former president George Bush had come back to life to instill the idea of war in his old country, I nearly smacked my head in frustration. Were the squishies _really_ that dumb? Not only was that highly improbable and illogical, it was highly impossible!

But some of the other ideas I was finding were fairly decent. Such as the idea the US had gained too much power and the other countries were trying to remind us we were only our own country, not theirs. It made sense, though I doubted it was the true reason...

Making myself comfortable, I began to "space out" as I sorted through various possibilities. This was probably going to take a while.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: So, I've played with the amount of time here... I'm guessing completely as to how old the mechs live to be. So, please bare with me on the timelines and such. I'm setting the time period around 8-9000. I know I've completely messed time up with this fic, but I hope you don't mind too much. Its hard to project that far into the future to begin with. This doesn't have any true bearing on things at the moment, but it might later... So please, keep in mind I know the mechs probably live longer than this, but I'm setting it so they have a typical life span of about 19-20000 years. Okie? Happy reading! And thanks to those of you who are reviewing, faving and story alerting!  
_

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He hadn't come back out of recharge.

Bee was effectively in terminal stasis lock, and nothing I did was bringing him out of it. I'd be lying if I said I was level headed and calm. My processor was shouting every obsenity I knew as I tried to pull him back online, even going so far as to transfer some of my energy to him.

I'd been alerted something was wrong when a strange blipping noise suddenly filled the room not four hours after the introduction between me and our new general, and at first, I had no idea what it was. But when I realized the sound was coming from Bumblebee, I nearly panicked, literally launching into my attempts to save him.

I was in no way a medic. I had slightly above normal knowledge on how to help a mech from my time as a Decepticon, but that wasn't what was needed. Bee was beginning his shut down procedures, and I knew he wouldn't reboot. The thought filled me with a fear I hadn't known for over 8000 human years.

I tried reevaluating some of his components, trying to find a problem... any problem. So long as I was able to do something! Finding nothing wrong was irritating and depressing me more than normal and I just didn't know what to do to help.

Nothing was physically wrong with Bumblebee. His components, wires, everything was in pristine condition. But his spark was old and was giving out on him. That was the only problem, and it was unfix-able. It was only a matter of time before it gave out completely and he would be rendered permanently offline.

The thought hurt me more than I wanted to acknowledge.

We both became strenuous friends long ago. Barricade and Bumblebee had set aside their differences after a short time of the Decepticons having been on the Autobot base. I had only Thundercracker and Skywarp as friends at the time, though Barricade and myself got along for the most part. Thundercracker was the one who brought the two into our small group and we'd gotten along ever since.

Though it wasn't until it was Barricade, Bumblebee, the twins and myself left that we actually gained each other's trust. That was when I'd started seeing Barricade and Bee as my new trine. I'd just started to get over the loss of TC and Warp at the time, even though it had been well over 400 years since they'd passed on.

Barricade's off-lining was like an energon sword to the spark, just as it had been for my former trine-mates. Bumblebee was no different. The ache in my spark was enough to throw me into a frenzy, and there wasn't much I was apparently able to do. The thought of losing another trine-mate hurt more than I could imagine...

"Come on Bumblebee, please, stay with me," I said quietly, trying another power transfer. I was dangerously low on energy, and my HUD sensors were telling me to recharge immediately, but I ignored it. "Bumblebee, don't give out on me yet..."

The horrible beeping stopped suddenly and I stared at the yellow bot in silence, willing his optics to come back online. They didn't. The blue optics stayed dark and I couldn't even think. All I could do was stare in shock.

Bumblebee, my friend... one of the few I was able to trust throughout my life, and the last Cybertronian other then myself, was gone. He was off-lined, and no amount of playing medic was going to change that. The pain in my spark intensified and I almost doubled over in recoil. What was there to do now?

Here I was, last of my kind on a planet not my own. Sure, the humans were fun to mess with, but... it wasn't the same if there were no Cybertronians. It wasn't the same without Bee and Cade...

I stood up shakily. I was completely dazed, not really paying attention to what I was doing or where I was going... but I realized suddenly I was outside on the tarmac, still in bipedal form. I heard the control tower's attempts to get me to go back to the hangar, but I was past caring at this point.

When Nick's voice called to me, I glanced at the tower for a moment. "I'll be back in a few hours," I said through the radio. I heard his confused questioning and the tower personnel's attempts to keep me grounded, but I didn't acknowledge. Instead, I jumped, hearing the gasps and shouts through the comms and around me on the tarmac, and transformed into my alt mode, my engines catching me before I crashed to the ground from gravity, and I shot off like a rocket.

"Starscream! Disengage and fall back to base!" Nick was shouting. His voice was frightened and I wondered why he would feel that way.

"I need to think. I'll be back in a while. Please Nick, don't go into the warehouse until I get back, alright?" my voice sounded void of emotion as I said the words I had feared since Bee had offlined. The radio silence that answered told me he'd figured out what happened. When he spoke next, it sounded like he was holding back tears.

"Star, I have to give you an order to get back to base. You've been given permission to fly for an hour, but do to enemy activity over in nearby sectors, its not safe. We can't risk you being attacked at random..."

"I can fly just fine by myself. I don't need a partner to defend myself," my voice was still blank, though it held an edge of defensiveness. Nick sighed over the comm.

"I know Star, but please, come back in an hour. I'm just relaying the order from General Taylor."

"Acknowledged. I'll land in one hour," I stated, cutting my signal. I was tempted to just leave the planet instead. I didn't, as I felt responsible for protecting Nick, but the thought was fairly tempting.

So tempting, I angled up, flying higher than I had in years. The cold bite of the atmosphere mixed with the burning sensation as I fought gravity and soon, I broke free of the Earth's gravitational pull. The hot and cold feeling of space and the absolute silence filled my senses. For some reason, being in space fit my mood.

I maneuvered around in the free space, trying to clear my thoughts and get somewhat back to normal. I dodged a satellite I barely saw in time by a mere fraction, twisting in a barrel roll. It reminded me of Skywarp and Thundercracker's introduction to the planet.

When they picked up Optimus Prime's signal, they'd come to the system to check it out. They hadn't believed the war to be over and had radioed for me (for they knew I was still online due to our being slightly linked as a trine) to give a status report. They had almost hit a few asteroids, and when they got to the planet, they had radioed for help in extinguishing the satellites that were apparently attacking them.

As it had turned out, Warp hadn't picked up on their presence until he almost crashed into one. Only his warping ability had saved him from a crash. But both TC and Warp believed the satellites to be hostile beings and were flying around in dodge tactics in case they were fired upon before they were given the go ahead to engage. When I had gotten into space, I nearly fired on them both for being stupid.

I twisted away from another satellite and groaned. There was so much more space junk up here than there used to be. It used to be difficult to fly anywhere without a satellite nearby, but now they seemed to take up all of the space in Earth's orbit, making it difficult to concentrate on clearing my head.

What was I going to do now? I literally had the freedom to do whatever I wanted, and if I were anything like I'd been so long ago, I probably would have destroyed this planet the moment Bee passed on. Well, ok, I probably would have destroyed (or at least attempted too) the planet long ago... but now, I had absolutely nothing holding me back.

Except Nick... and Tops...

Both boys had grown on me. Around them, I felt happy and carefree, much like I had felt as a sparkling... even as a youngling, before the war invaded my life. They had a type of energy around them that just set my normal paranoia at ease. It felt... nice. Even around Bumblebee and Barricade I hadn't been able to relax to the degree I did with the human children.

My spark sent a sharp throb through my frame at the past images of my off-lined comrades that popped up, and I veered to the left in response. It was completely reactionary.

After a few more moments of space surfing, I allowed the Earth to pull me down, my wing flaps keeping me upright for the most part. The burn of reentry licked at my alt. mode's metal casing, finding all of the week points in the human's engineering of the old model. Warnings flashed in my HUD, telling me the normal reentry problems that occurred, such as sensor failures, gyro balance off kilter, and plating heating reaching critical. Had I been in proto-form, I would have lost a few pieces here and there due to the heating and cooling of the metals in such a rapid fire manner. But as it was, I ignored the problems.

When I hit the thermosphere [Check to see the different layer names... this should be just above stratosphere], I revved the jet engines, igniting them as I tilted backward to even out my decent into the stratosphere. As I felt the wind catch my wings, I pulled up so I became parallel to the ground and I was flying perfectly once more. I had gotten really good at reentry.

As I neared closer to the base, I heard my comms click, telling me the radio tower was trying to get a hold of me. Flipping them on, I nearly jerked at the angry shouts that met my ears. "- have you been!? You were given an hour! You've been gone for two!" the screechy voice I loved so much exclaimed. Nick was in the background, trying to calm the man down. I heard something about meteors and I realized they must have caught my reentry with a satellite.

Woops.

"I apologize for missing the checkpoint," I said, not really caring at all. My voice was still emotionless and fairly monotone. I sounded every part the piece of technology, and not at all like the proud warrior I was. Sad part was, I didn't even care at this point. "I hadn't been paying much attention to my chronometer."

"Well you better start!" General Taylor shouted. I held back the dry laugh that threatened to spill from my vocal processor.

"I don't have to follow your rule General. Please, don't presume to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. I'm under your command, but I do not have the same curfews your men apparently do, as I'm not an ordinary soldier. The treaty I signed with your superiors states such. So do me a favor and calm down. Drink some coffee or whiskey."

That was probably not the best thing to say, but I found it easier to be sarcastic than emotional. It felt like the old me at any rate. The dead silence on the air waves that followed told me I was going to get a verbal lashing when I landed. What did they think they were going to do to me? Give me a slap on the wrist? For doing what I was perfectly allowed to do?

Laughable. Foolish fleshlings.

My landing wasn't the smoothest ever, though I covered it up so it wasn't too noticeable. My landing gear, hadn't engaged, making me need to circle around an extra two times, prompting questions that were clipped and to the point. I ignored them completely. As soon as I'd touched down, I transformed, not really wanting to be put through the normal cool down procedures after my jaunt through space. My armor was burning in places, and freezing in others. I'd take care of it myself.

Though, not before being yelled at it seemed. General Taylor, Nick and a few marines were standing off close to where I was when I'd finished my landing. Nick looked pale and the general was fuming like Megatron had when the All Spark was jettisoned. From those two alone, I knew this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Alright, just what the hell were you thinking Starscream?" Taylor's baritone voice was deeper than normal, coming from his chest. He had a tilt to his head, giving him a rather "tough guy-ish" type appearance. It was laughable, do to his size, though I suppose if I were human I'd have been positively terrified...

"I was executing my right to leave the planet," I stated neutrally. They couldn't pin anything on me, just because I had left the Earth. Had I been planet-side and come back late, I could be suspended and even detained... but I'd been past the planet's gravitational pull, I was safe.

And to think, it had been completely coincidental and unplanned. Strange how that works.

"You left the planet and didn't check in with me for permission first?" his voice sounded deadly. He was acting more like Megatron by the minute. Had he been taller than me, I'd have been wadded in a corner somewhere under his glare. As it was, I merely glanced at him.

"I don't have to tell you I'm leaving. According to the treaty I'd signed, I have the option to come and go as I please. If I had done something wrong, you'd have a case here, but as it stands, I haven't. So again I ask general, calm down," Nick gave me a concerned glance at my tone, which I ignored. It was easier if I held no emotion.

"My first priority is safety Starscream. You're under my command. If I give you an order, you are to follow it, no matter what any treaty says. You realize you could have been fired upon? That you could have been captured? Do you realize you put this entire base in jeopardy by not coming back on time? Or even, for leaving in the first place?" his tone had changed from deadly to concerned to complete anger within his differing sentences.

"General Taylor, I am capable of taking anything you measly humans can fire at me and still be able to shoot them down without problem. I wouldn't be captured. The only reason I have ever fallen behind enemy lines is when I'm carrying a scrambler and I happen to catch stray fire. As for your base being in "jeopardy", I believe your military personnel are trained for that sort of thing. There is a war going on, as meaningless as it is, putting your lives in danger every second of the day."

The leader actually looked to ponder this bout of information over. His gray eyes were still glaring at me, and he had squared his shoulders as if he was ready for a fight to break out, but he seemed to be thinking my words over. I honestly thought the words would have sent him into a furry.

"You're right Starscream, there is a war going on. I'd like to keep the fighting to the barest minimum and I don't want you fired on, regardless of if you can take it or not. I give an order, I expect you to follow-"

"Under the treaty general, I don't have to follow your order," I cut in, glaring in full. My emotion was suddenly back and it was all I could do to attempt keeping the sting out of my words, "I'm here under my own power and I can leave at anytime I so choose. It most likely won't happen in this way again, so you don't have to worry. But if I seem to not care about your orders as much as your human followers, there is a reason for that and that is because I am not human. The day I take your order to heart without quip or fail is the day you need to worry about my sanity."

"If you won't follow my order, then I don't think I want you flying missions," the short man ground out. Nick's eyes widened and I picked up his accelerated heartbeat. He didn't want me to leave.

"I follow Nick's orders only without question. But the truth is human, I don't trust you. Nor do I want to trust you. If you don't wish me to fly your missions, that is perfectly fine with me. I have done you no wrong, so if you try to detain me, you will be breaking the treaty. But so you are aware, not having me on your side lowers your chances of winning against the world. Especially when your allies are turning against you like rats."

The breeze that hit my wings felt indescribable. I almost stopped mid-rant to savor the feeling. Not really paying attention any more, I watched the horror-stricken look cross the leaders face as he processed my words and what they meant. Perhaps he didn't know the cause of the war, but even he wasn't dumb enough to skim over the fact the US was the target here.

"You're on probation Starscream. The treaty is in void while I evaluate you to be sure you aren't a threat. You are confined to your warehouse unless specifically told otherwise. You understand?" the man questioned, glaring openly at me. I shrugged, knowing he couldn't hold me there for long. I'd email his superiors with a copy of the treaty and see how long it lasted.

"Your call. Does this mean I don't have to go on the drop in two days?" I asked nonchalantly. It didn't bother me either way, though Nick would be disappointed at being grounded. Especially if it was because of this personality conflict.

"I don't know yet. You'll know tomorrow at the end of shift if I decide to let you go or not," was the reply before the man stomped off toward the main building. I scooped Nick up into my hand and began heading for the warehouse, though my movements were slightly sluggish. I wasn't really looking forward to going back there...

It meant I'd see an empty shell instead of my friend. And that was rather depressing...

"Did you have to rumple his ego?" Nick asked in annoyance. "He's a jerk, yeah, but come on Star, he's got a point. You know better than to shirk an order... even if you don't have to take it..."

"I have the feeling Nick, that we will be "rumpling" each other's egos for the rest of our careers together. Our personalities just don't see eye to eye. As for the order... Did it occur to you I was telling the truth? I hadn't been paying attention to the time constraints when I left the planet for some alone time. I needed to think, therefor, I left. You can't blame me for needing to leave... This planet is full of memories I wanted to get away from."

"Then why'd you come back?" his voice was barely audible, even for my hearing. I stared at the back of his head for a moment before looking toward the sky.

"I came back because I have nowhere else to go. I could wander the universe for the rest of my life. But for now, I have to watch over you. There's no way in hell I'm allowing you to fly a pitiful D-10. You are... my only friend in this existence left. I'm not leaving until you do."

I said it quietly. I honestly didn't think he heard me, as he gave no outward indication. That didn't matter so much. He didn't need to know my reasoning. I came back, and that was probably all that mattered to him in the end.

"We're not going to be allowed to leave base... and the drop is probably out of the question..." Nick mused with a grim smile. "It's gonna be real boring around here... and what're you gonna do if they can't trust you?"

"We'll "cross that bridge when we come to it" Nick."

"Right... oh well... extra chill time I guess..."

"More meetings is more probable... and I know how you hate those," I teased, pulling the warehouse door open with my free hand. I completely skipped my eyes over the forlorn corner Bee had been in when I'd left. I didn't want to see him now... it would hurt so much more now that I wasn't feeling blank...

"Damn! You owe me Screamer! I hate meetings!" Nick exclaimed, and I watched him tense as he laid eyes on the corner I was avoiding. "Um... What do we do..."

"I'll take care of him in the morning... Just... not right now. Can you do me a favor and run to supplies for a large tarp to cover him?" my voice remained steady and calm, though how I'd been able to keep it that way was beyond me.

As Nick left, I lost my will and I glanced at the corner. My entire body seemed to freeze, and no matter how much I wanted to avert my gaze, I just couldn't seem to do so... The shell seemed dark and depressing. It was so unlike Bee I wanted to shake my head in denial. I felt the urge to yell or run outside and take flight again and the only thing that kept me still was the fact I couldn't turn away from him.

I cursed Primus then. I cursed him for taking Bee and Cade from me. I even cursed him for taking TC and Warp from me so long ago. I cursed him for leaving me as the sole survivor when I should have off-lined when my trine had... Both of them in fact, for Barricade and Bumblebee had become my surrogate trine, and I had connected with them the way all fliers connect with their teams. By all rights, I should have off-lined when Cade did... And now with Bee. It was a recurring cycle and I apparently couldn't evade it.

Was I destined to live forever? As conceited as it sounded, the evidence was pointing to it as a probability. But why? And why me of all mechs? It was frustrating, and it was almost to much to handle.

The sudden tarp in my vision jerked me out of my thoughts and I saw Nick attempting to cover Bee. For a moment, my thoughts hazy, I almost snapped at him to stop what he was doing as Bee wasn't gone yet. But instead, my body moved seeming automatically and I took the tarp from my human and spread it over my brother, just as we'd done for Barricade. I whispered a few words to him... a human custom the Cybertronians had picked up when Ironhide had passed.

It was custom to say departing words to the dead. Though it didn't make me feel better, I stuck to it. Bee deserved it, just in case the tradition held any form of significance.

Having said my farewell, I leaned against the wall, listen to the choked sobs Nick was making, and just watched the wall. I felt too drained to do anything else.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N : This is the longest chapter so far. As with most of my work, I'm not really very happy with this, but oh well. I am however, liking how the story is progressing. It doesn't seem too rushed, which is a problem in some of my other stories. Though, it is still fast... I dunno. Tell me what you think._

_I want to take this time to thank my reviewers! Shadir, Victoria-BlackHeart and Dixiegurl13, you guys are the best. You have reviewed most, if not all of my chapters so far. I'm grateful. I honestly hope you guys stick around and give me your thoughts as the story progresses =D ._

_Note : The bold italics mean its another language speaking. As at the moment it is Canada and I don't know if the speak predominately French or English... or really what their language is at all, I put it in bold italics. It helps differentiate in this chapter anyway._

I hadn't moved from where I sat. I hadn't even allowed myself to fall into recharge, despite how exhausted I was. I just couldn't do it... I couldn't tear my gaze away from the corner Bee was still in. I couldn't even move to get him out of the warehouse. Technically I wasn't allowed to leave anyway, though that had never stopped me before.

Instead, I sat against the wall, memories haunting me. I couldn't escape them, no matter how I tried to do so. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was even allowing myself to escape them... I don't know anymore.

I know Nick had left, come back and left again. I wasn't exactly sure how long I'd been "spacing out" against the wall, staring at my friend's remains, but I knew it had been at least a day. Anything Nick had said during the time he'd been here had fallen on deaf audio-processors. I was completely gone to the outside world.

The only other time I'd felt this useless and depressed had been back on Cybertron... before I joined the war... joined the Decepticons... I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I didn't want to be thinking about this! These thoughts were going to bring me back to a place I didn't want to go.

Instead, I stood up, turning around to face the wall, and promptly banged my head against it as lightly as I could so as not to bring it down, but still hard enough to rattle my processor.

Bumblebee would have called me crazy at this point. The intent to do "self harm" in such a way was a familiar thing for me. It had been how I'd always put a subject aside in the past that my mind had wanted to find answers for that just couldn't be found. Bee had never understood it and had thought I was "insane". Barricade had always laughed when he watched me perform the movement of hitting my head against a solid surface, even in Decepticon quarters. It had been amusing to him.

Thundercracker and Skywarp had never said anything about it. If they thought it strange, they never brought it up. I figured that was because they knew me better than anyone else, they must have known my reasons behind that as well. Megatron must have believed me to want punishment of some sort as he was always quick to follow with a smack to the head, or even my wings, after anytime I accidentally did so in his presence.

Needless to say, I learned real quick to keep that little habit away from Megatron's eyes. Or to cover it by instead merely smacking my head in a human fashion.

"You alright Star?" Tops' voice almost made me jump. I hadn't heard the human door open at all. I turned to face him. He looked as depressed as I felt.

"As well as can be expected. Are you alright yourself?" I countered, taking in the dark marks under his eyes. He had gotten about as much rest as me it seemed, and his slouched posture only proved the fact.

"I'm good... I hear you aren't coming on the mission... General Taylor is really pissed off about that stunt you pulled the other day..." he said quietly, staring toward the corner. "He is definitely not one you want to piss off. He doesn't take kindly to those who second guess him, either... I saw him go off on this pilot earlier, and all she'd done was question him on if she should wait to perform a maintenance check on her bird."

"I'd be lying if I said I was depressed about being left behind," I said monotonously, "I'm probably not the best company to have during a mission like this anyway do to certain circumstances. As for the general, he'll learn. He's new to the goings on of this base and something tells me he doesn't quite know what he's doing in terms of warfare. He's probably never been on a combat base before."

"Yeah, that's true... Well, I came to say goodbye. Nick'll prolly stop by also in a few minutes. We're heading to the drop point. Nick has been assigned a temporary D-10 for the mission. It's gonna be weird without you around buddy..."

I stared at him a moment. Had he really just said Nick was going on this mission... without me? This was new. Had Nick told me when I was staring off into the corner? Or had he neglected to mention it to me, knowing it wouldn't change anything? "Nick is going on this mission? How long till you leave?"

"We're in our prep time right now. We'll be taking off in a half hour. I think Nicky's getting his gear, then he'll be over to talk to you before heading to the tarmac."

"Who will be carrying the scrambler?" I barely managed to keep the fear out of my tone. Nick wasn't used to D-10 flight patterns. He wouldn't be able to dodge fire, meaning the mission would be a failure from the start if he was the one... and I didn't want to admit it, but I wouldn't be able to stand losing him... especially after losing Bee.

"I will be. General knows Nick can't fly a D-10 as well as the rest of the team, so he assigned it to me instead as I'm the 2ic of the unit. Anyway, I gotta head out Screamer... See ya later."

And with that said, he turned around and walked out of the warehouse. "Good luck Tops..." I whispered, turning my attention outside as I waited for Nick to pop in.

After about twenty minutes, I realized he wasn't going to. And when I heard the jets begin their take offs, I knew I shouldn't have expected him too. Why would he want to come in here when I hadn't even been paying attention to anything he said, and when the shell of his former guardian was sitting in the corner. The entire room was depressing.

So, I did what I did best. I did it out of boredom, but mostly, because I feared something bad was going to happen during this mission. I opened my comm channel and listened to the frequency the D-10s were using. The first thing I heard was a swear word. It took a moment to realize the tone belonged to Nick.

"Fuck."

"You said Burns... This whole thing is, as the mechs say, slagged." That had been Tops. He sounded angry, like he had just come out of a one on one vocal show down with a marine.

"Slagged?" Bates asked. He had only seen me once or twice, meaning he didn't know Cybertronian cusses.

"As in "FUBAR" Bates. This whole war is FUBAR, and there doesn't seem to be a thing any of us can do to fix it," that was Bubbles. His texan accent came out slightly stronger with emotion. Just what happened to set everyone off?

"Alright guys, we're almost to the border. Remember, keep the fire off of Tops. Direct your anger at our commander toward the Canadians you know are gonna be there," Nick sounded tired and emotionally drained. Not surprising...

"Ya guys, keep me safe. I'm the damsel in distress this time, so please, don't leave me hanging!" Tops joked, though it sounded sarcastic.

"You're quite the damsel, Tops... We should get you a dress and a tiara to fit the profile. Right boys?"

"Oh shut up Bubs. Least I'm manly enough to admit I'm in trouble, Mr. I got shot down over the ocean cause I'm too proud to call for help."

When Nick interrupted the squabble, I heard the irritation and frustration in his tone, "Good lord! I command a bunch of teenage girls! Gentleman, please. There's been enough baiting at each other for one day. I don't need it from you two as well. Bad enough the general is a jackass..."

"Sorry Burns..." both pilots responded.

"Alright, radio silence unless something happens."

And so the comms fell into quietness. I had to wonder just what happened with the general to set everyone off on him now... Tops had eluded to something, but I hadn't expected the entire team to be affected...

Keeping their frequency, I tapped into the Canadian's radio as well. Silence met my audios for all of two seconds. _**~ I'm getting a squadron inbound from the US side. Scans indicate they have weapons and are carrying their scrambler technology.~**_

_**~ Is the old F-22 fighter with them?~**_ I nearly shuddered at the velvety tone the guy used. It sounded like he actually _wanted_ me there.

_**~ The ionic signatures state these are only the US D-10 series. There are no other craft with them. Should we send our forces to intercept?~**_

_**~ Affirmative. Even without the F-22, the squadron should be dealt with before they cause any casualties. Tell them to keep their eyes peeled. Should the F-22 show up, they are to bring it in. D-10s I don't care for, but the F-22 is... appealing.~ **_Well, that knowledge was creepy. Just what did the Canadians want with me?

"Burnout," I said over the D-10 frequency, "There are bogeys inbound. They have the intent to bring you down without mercy."

"How long until they intercept us, Starscream?" Nick's voice was just above a whisper. He probably had no idea I could follow the comms this far off. I heard the others take a breath of surprise as well.

"They are locked on to your ionic signatures. They'll be on your radar I assume in about a minute. They know one of you has a scrambler. They'll probably engage over non-populated areas."

"I have a squadron of eight on my radar Burnout," Bates stated not thirty seconds later. Nick cursed quietly, and I knew he began to take the lead in the attack formation they were currently falling into.

_**~ Engage!~**_

_**~ If you run into the F-22, bring it down and radio in.~**_

"Alright guys, lets get this party started!" Nick said and I knew the fight began. I could hear the weapons fire over the comms, though it was quiet and distorted...

"We shoulda brought some alchohol if this is a party!" I had to wonder about Bubbles' sanity sometimes. "Woulda been a fun one!"

"Uh, yeah, until you crash and die," Bates stated calmly. Primus, it sounded like they were merely in the rec room.

"Well that was fairly depressing... Thanks for ruining my mood," Tops' voice broke through, sounding a bit strained. He must have been in the middle of a tight turn or a barrel roll. "Though I wish we actually could have a party up here... You know, bring some hot chicks and dance among the stars..."

"Oh yeah, tell her you love her and you will till you die. Cause guess what? It'll be true," Nick laughed, getting into the conversation. I really had to wonder...

_**~ If these guys were on our side, they'd probably be the best pilots we had! How're they dodging us?~**_

__"Hey, you know, I always planned to get married up here..."

_**~Anyone know which has the scrambler?~**_

__"Oh yeah, cause that would be fun..."

"Come on! You know it was popular in the 21st century to get married doing crazy things... Hey, think Screamer will let me fly into space with him?" Tops asked and I held back a chuckle at the hopeful tone.

"So long as it isn't a marriage Tops..." I said in return. "Inter-species relationships don't work well."

_**~ I'm looking... I can't figure out which one it is... Damn!~**_

_**~ Here, I'll scan. Everyone knows you can't scan for crap.~**_

__"Aw... You take away all the fun!" Tops muttered, bringing a few laughs over the comms.

"I'm about to take away more," I said seriously, silencing everyone, "They're scanning for the scrambler. What's your ETA?"

"We're about ten minutes off from the base..." Nick said with worry in his tone. I wished fervently I was there to help and judge the situation.

_**~ Found it.~**_

__"Tops!" I shouted suddenly as those words wafted over the waves. The sound of fire hit my audios and the team was suddenly silent.

_**~ Confirmed kill.~**_

_**~Affirmative. Was there a doubt in my abilities to down an opponent? They killed my best friend last week. That was the least I could do!"**_

_**~ Confirmed kill. Damn, you're pretty good at this Pierczyk!~**_

_**~ Of course.~**_

I stiffened at the words. "Who's been shot down?" I was almost afraid to ask it. I stared at Bumblebee's corner as I waited for the response that never seemed to come. I hadn't realized how dark it was in this building...

"Tops and Bates have been shot down..." Nick growled and I heard the tears in his voice. It was rare anyone survived a shot with a scrambler aboard... they were just too reactive... "We're heading back to base to regroup. Then we're going to go find them. Starscream, relay the comm data to the general and the control tower comms analyst when we get closer. Requesting radio silence."

I didn't have to have Soundwave's "mind reading" technology to know Nick was distraught... That sentence and the emotion behind it was enough to let even the denser people out there know he was not happy and was in fact, hating the fact he was leaving his best friend in enemy territory... I completely agreed with him... The humans had come up with the saying, "Never leave your own behind" several thousand years ago, and now he had to do just that.

It was frustrating to say the least.

"Burnout, we're being tailed," Bubbles growled out suddenly and I heard the other two pilots curse. That was precisely ten seconds before the sound of aerial battle filled the comms once more.

_**~ Attack!~**_

"Burnout, where'd they all come from?!" Spinner exclaimed, taking fire. I cursed quietly, running to the entrance of the warehouse. From the sound of fire, there were many more enemies than they could handle as a three man team. I wasn't sure how I would justify going against orders this time, but I'd be slagged if I allowed Nick or the others to be shot down. It was bad enough Bates and Tops were down in enemy land...

"Evasive maneuvers, I'll be there in a few minutes to help take some pressure off," I said, opening the door. Right off the bat, there were humans I'd seen on occasion yelling at me to get back in the building, which I promptly ignored. Instead, I began sending the data I'd gotten from the comms up until this point to the general and let him decide my fate when I got back. As a back thought, I sent it to the analyst as well.

"No Starscream, you're under orders to stay on base. Do you hear me?" Nick was attempting to be stern. It really didn't suit him.

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind Nick, so give up now and save yourself some dignity. I'll be there in a few minutes..." I replied, jumping and transforming mid-air, allowing my jets to catch me and send me rocketing off toward the excitement.

The world flew around me in a blur as I flew in record speed. Well, record for an F-22 well past its prime. Truth was, I could have gone fast if I was a Cybertronian aircraft, or even if I'd changed to a D-10... But this would do for now. Nick was still trying to talk me out of coming, though I could hear the strain in his voice as he most likely twisted this way and that to avoid fire.

It finally got to the point Bubbles defended my "coming to the rescue", saying he was more than happy right now to claim he was the "damsel in distress". That only strengthened my resolve and made me push my limit.

Within a single human minute, I was upon them. I had activated my weapons without even realizing it, and I fired upon one of the ships chasing Bubbles. "Yeeha!" he exclaimed, and I made a note to ask him about the significance a cowherd's term posed in this situation. Apparently I didn't know as much about human culture as I'd thought over the years.

"Star, you know you're going to be in trouble when we get back, right?" Nick asked, anger in his voice. I ignored him, shooting my target down.

_**~ The F-22! Bring it down!~**_

_**~ That thing has a good shot! It took Pierczyk down without much trouble!~**_

_**~ Hence why we bring it down idiot! Shoot him!~**_

__Oh if only they knew.

"Screamer, you seem to have a few baddies on your tail," Spinner said politely as he shot the Canadian that was suddenly behind me. I hadn't even sensed the guy on the radar. "You're welcome buddy."

"Right, don't think I'm going to thank you human."

"Of course not."

"Little help?" Nick broke in and I banked to the left to find him. He was being tailed by three Canadian Hawks and I "sighed" in exasperation. "I can't shake these guys..."

"You can't stay out of trouble, can you?" I asked, bringing all three in my sites and loosing the rounds. If they were paying attention, they'd probably be curious as to why there was plasma gun fire, when that was technology no known country held. After all, without Megatron to study, the humans were a bit at a loss at how to advance except for what the Autobots had allowed them to preen off of them.

"Seems not... Star, watch your six!" he shouted and I bit back a groan of pain at the feeling of bullets tearing through my wings. I flew through the formation that followed Nick, allowing my tailers to follow if they dared. They did. Only one ship collided with another though... unfortunately for me and Nick.

"Yeeha!" Bubbles exclaimed again and the enemy ships following Nick fell back as he fired upon them.

_**~ Fall back for now... We'll attack the base later pending orders. We can't take them now...~**_

_**~ No way! We aren't weak. Lets show em what we're made of!~**_

_**~Back down-~**_

_**~ Not a chance!~**_ I felt pain flare in my wings once more, and my fuselage wasn't far behind them. If it weren't for that, I would have laughed at the insubordination in the enemy ranks. As it was, I barrel rolled to dodge the assault I suddenly found myself in. Why were they focusing on me alone? What did they want with an old F-22? The questions were haunting me as I evaded as best as I could, which was fairly well.

"Watch out!" one of the others said and I instinctively dived, pulling a move I knew none of the Earth jets were capable of. I heard gasps from both sides as I pulled out of it, engines obviously still online, which to the human's technology, was unheard of if they'd have tried that move. I knew that was only going to make things worse, but I hadn't cared at that moment...

I had been reacting as I would have in the Great War. I hadn't taken human maneuverability into consideration. The end result had stunned the enemies, making them easy targets, but was, in the long run, opening me up to be further... desired than I apparently was. That thought made me uneasy.

_**~ Fall back, that's an order!~**_

"They're retreating," I said as calmly as I could, spinning in a loose barrel roll as I joined the formation in Tops' previous position. Bubbles fell in behind me, as Spinner took up behind Nick to my left.

"Good, the slaggers deserve to head home with their tails between their legs!" Nick growled and if I weren't in alt. mode, I would have quirked an eye ridge at the tone. I completely understood how he felt, but that didn't mean I was used to the seriousness coming from him. Nor had I expected the Cybertronian cuss.

"When are we heading back boss?" Spinner asked, his politeness clinging to his words, though he sounded as anxious as Nick probably did in getting the fallen back on our side.

"Unfortunately, that's the general's call. He's probably going to spout how that would be too dangerous and won't let us go... I'm going anyway..."

"Nick, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that for the reports sake," I said, half joking, half serious. The grunt I recieved in response told me my human didn't appreciate my humor. Oh well.

"We can't just leave them out there..." Bubbles grumbled. I was inclined to agree with the man... Although...

"I feel it best to forwarn you all... as you seem to believe we will get them back... They may very well not have... survived..." as soon as I said it, I winced, knowing the others were going to shout in outrage. It had to be said though, just in case.

"They're alive. They've gotta be!"

"I believe the statistics aren't exactly being kind to us in this... At least, in Tops' case. Very seldom few survive a scrambler explosion. You all know that. Just keep it in mind. I honestly hope he's one of the few... But keep it in mind, just in case," with those words, our comms went silent.

When we touched down, after having a mini-argument with the control tower over if we had clearance to land or not, the general and a few other high ranking officials were quick to meet us. I had expected a verbal tongue lashing from the human, but instead, his face was worried and he completely overlooked my presence with the team. "Are you boys alright?"

"That's the question of the century big-boss," Spinner spat, pulling his helmet off. I began inching away from the jets when I saw the humans coming in to begin cool downs...

"Were you able to drop the scrambler before Tops was shot down?" the general looked eager. That was never a sign of good things to come. Nick shook his head stiffly, touching just above a bullet wound in my fuselage. I hadn't been expecting the bullets to be able to penetrate my armor...

"No sir. We were still about seven minutes out when he was shot down," Bubbles stated, inspecting my battle wounds as well. Ever feel like your being watched?

"Damn it..." the general cursed. That was new... I'd heard Toste curse maybe a total of twice and usually he had kept it low so the others wouldn't hear. Taylor cursed for the world to know it. He turned to face me, though his eyes didn't fixate on any part of me like other humans did, "And you Starscream, what did you think you were doing disobeying my direct orders?"

"I was coming to the rescue. Surely you were able to understand that from the radio chatter I sent you," I smirked, though he couldn't see it. His glare deepened.

"He was our knight in shining armor general," Bubbles defended, prodding a particularly sensitive area. It took effort to keep from shivering at the pain.

It was funny. These were mere bullet wounds. I'd received worse from Megatron and the Autobots, and here I was now, in pain from a simple human weapon. It was pathetic put that way, but the bullets _were_ more powerful and sharper than they'd been in the past... so maybe it was slightly legitimate...

"He disobeyed my order. I should have him locked away for that!" the man shouted and I was severely tempted to show Decepticon behavior by transforming and squishing the flesh bag. I didn't however, simply because Nick wouldn't approve.

I was feeling more and more like a human's pet dog.

"I acted accordingly general. You would have sent someone to help anyway had you known. Truth is though, you didn't, and it would have taken time they couldn't afford. So instead, I briefed you of the situation and acted, saving your men and jets, instead of waiting around for you to realize the drop was off schedule and send reinforcements who weren't ready for combat," I watched the purple tint come to the man's face and I almost laughed. He really didn't like the fact that I knew better than he did and had the ability to back it up.

"I should have you dismantled!"

"I would love to see you try general," I laughed, ignoring the angry look from Nick and the snickers from Bubbles. At least one of the team was amused. "Now, general. Requesting immediate search and rescue for Tops and Bates."

The wide-eyed look I got in return for the request almost made me roll my optics (were I able to anyway) and take off without a yes or no. Instead, I waited for the human to process what I was talking about. The others from the team were all staring at the man expectantly, serious as I'd ever seen them. I inched away from the jets once more as the humans got closer.

"What?" our leader asked, "What makes you believe they're alive?"

Everyone present glared and the man held back a flinch. "We don't leave anyone behind," Bubbles stated, "Dead or alive, we take em back to our side."

"Hopefully more alive than dead," I quipped, twitching my wings as the hoses got closer. Without really paying attention, I rolled forward a few feet, making the humans carrying them stop and stare in wonder. They, I'm sure, had only heard through rumors about what I was. Though how you could have missed the giant robot that had been on the tarmac last week, I have no idea. "Don't touch me humans. I have no desire to be "cooled down" as you say. I don't need it."

"Starscream," Nick muttered, "You have to get "cooled down". It's part of the protocol and you know it. And, you agreed to it too. Stop complaining and be like a normal jet."

I growled a response, though I stood still for Nick's sake, as he was standing on my wing, inspecting the damage on them. I was tempted to shake him off, but if he wanted me to go through cool downs, I didn't mind if he joined me.

The humans carrying the hoses instead turned on their heels and walked off, making me smirk in triumph, though Nick prodded a bit to hard in a sensitive area, making me believe he was mad at me for it. It wasn't entirely my fault!

"You have a go."

We all turned our attention to the general, who was looking thoughtfully toward the ocean. "You have a go men. You leave in one hour. Starscream, you will be flying head of the mission, Nick will accompany you. Be careful. All of you."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N : I've hit a small snag on chapter 8... as I'm not entirely sure which of my outlined angles I want to go for... So once 7 is out, I may not update for a bit. But I'm determined! It won't be a long wait.**_

_**Anyway, moving on. I realized with a few reviews I have forgotten to say this. I have nothing against Canada. I really don't. I actually really like the country and they are one of our biggest allies. For the purpose of this story though, it is important that the war progresses as it does. There is a reason for this after all, and you'll maybe pick up a small bit of my future plan in this chapter. There is a big reason for the Canadians' sudden turn of alliance. I promise, I'm not trying to be rude to anybody.**_

_**To you who have reviewed and had questions/gave me information. GBscientist, I know I should do a lot of research for various things. Problem is, I have too much urge to write and be creative, and no time to research various things. I thank you for setting me straight on the languages and where what is spoken where. I do appreciate it =D. Victoria-BlackHeart, You're just gonna have to wait and see why the Canadians are so apt to get Star, cause I obviously can't spoil it =P. **_

_**Now, go read on my friends.**_

The base was suddenly in a frenzy. I watched as human after human ran this way and that, in groups of three or more, doing Primus only knew what. There was precisely ten minutes until we launched to find our men, and that knowledge only seemed to make them run instead of the usual power walk.

It took a lot of effort on my part not to shout at the humans to hurry up or curse at them. I couldn't hold my impatience in check, no matter how much Nick wanted me too.

"Chill Star... We'll be leaving in just a few minutes."

"Every minute counts in a situation like this. I'm ready to leave. I should be able to do so to get this search and rescue underway," I growled, twitching slightly. Nick tensed for a minute, probably giving me a strange look as he still wasn't quite used to my movement, regardless how many times we'd flown together.

"You know that's not how it works..." he stated, tapping my control panel. I was about to twitch again, just to piss him off, when I nearly jumped at the feeling of water on my wings. It was enough to paralyze me and I sat dazed as the feeling literally took over my thought process. The wings were after all, the most sensitive part of any flier mech... seekers especially so.

When the feeling finally ended, I heard Nick yelling at whoever had thought it a good idea to hose my wings down. I heard the guy responds to him by saying the temperature was too high and that he didn't want the wings to be unresponsive. I could have laughed if I wasn't angry at the man.

I recognized him as one of the men normally assigned the cool down procedures and I growled lowly. So, he got me after all. This was war.

"Just go away!" Nick shouted, sitting down rather rough. It took a moment to register the fact that my interior was wet, and Nick was as well. "God I hate that man!"

"He was being... thoughtful. Although his thoughts are a bit misplaced... Who taught him that you hose a jet down just before take off? The slagger. If I were a regular F-22, I'd lock up with ice during the mission and you'd be in no better position than Tops and Bates."

"I don't know, but I know I'm enlisting Tops' help in dunking the guy in the ocean. He's not going to get away with this."

"Nor would I expect him too. If it weren't for the fact I can't leave the base, I'd help you with that threat. This means war. What is taking so _long_?" I honestly couldn't stand sitting on the tarmac waiting for the all clear. It was frustrating and made me a very unhappy mech. "It can't possibly be still five minutes before take off... Even longer as we have to wait for control to send us off. This is taking too long!"

"There's nothing we can do about it..." Nick was feeling like I was, though I am happy he's much more level-headed. "We're lucky we're even being allowed to do this. The Canadians agreed to have a search and rescue party cross their borders to find them... which is amazing in itself in war time. We have time..."

"Do we? They went down in a ball of fire. Both of them. If they were injured, every minute counts and you know it," my tone made Nick squirm slightly. Whether he hadn't thought of that or he was uncomfortable with the thought I had no idea.

"You're making me antsy Star... Please, chill."

"Impossible for a flier to do, and you should know that. When have I ever "chilled"?"

"Oh just shut up."

And so I did amazingly enough. I found I had nothing to say to that, so instead of scrounging and making a comeback, I focused on the task nearly at hand. The Canadians were perhaps nice enough to not take POWs, but for some reason I highly doubted that. There was more to this, just as the war had more to it than was obvious.

It was just a matter of figuring out what it was exactly.

"Alright SR team, you have a go. Make your way to runway 3 and commence take off procedure," a female voice called over the comms. She must be new, as I'd never heard her before, and she was much too formal for having been here for any length of time. We all knew the control tower was chalked full of "crack heads" like Mr. Screechy.

"Alright team, you heard the lady. We'll take point. Brigg follow, Cheese-it next and Bubbles take up the rear. Keep tight in formation and listen for my signal to split off. Starscream, keep an ear out on Canadian comms. They're letting us get away with too much and I don't trust this situation at all."

"You and me both, Burnout," I muttered over the comms, allowing the new pilots to get used to my voice. I knew they hadn't heard it before, as only my team and the higher ups had (save select few who'd managed to either get in my way or just catch me at the right time), and it wouldn't do to have them not listen to a command due to not knowing if the command was friend or foe.

We taxied across the tarmac in a single file line. I really did hate runway 3...

"Begin take off procedures," Nick stated, looking over my consul. He knew he didn't have too... Oh well. I sighed, waiting for the others to be done so we could go. D-10 Dragonflies had so many things that needed checking... Funny to think the F-22 had been tricky for humans way back in the day. A human from that time period would be absolutely lost in the new models.

"Brigg here, all systems go," his voice was serious, though it was young. Perhaps as young as Nick and Tops. That was rare.

"Cheese-it copies, systems looking good," this one sounded like Bubbles' sister. She had the same Texan accent and it sounded like she had a permanent smile. Interesting.

"My bird's all good. Lets try to avoid bein shot at though Burns... This bird ain't mine and I'm sure Ali will kill me if she's damaged in any way."

"Will attempt Bubbles. Alright team, move out," Nick laughed, and I muttered a quiet "finally..." before taking off.

It took effort to stay at the pace of a D-10.

"Anything yet Star?" Nick asked me, and I quickly scanned the frequencies I knew the Canadians used. Everything was absolutely silent. It was a bit suspicious actually... I wasn't even picking up civilian planes.

"Negative. Everything is quiet so far," I replied, turning gently. The other jets followed suit without question. Nick instinctively pulled the steering to try and correct the course he'd set, though I ignored him. "You were engaged in battle this way. At least, this is where you were when I got here. Trust me Nick."

"Right... I wasn't paying attention I guess... Sorry," he said, tapping the consul again.

"Burnout, just curious..." Brigg said suddenly. "You asked Starscream to listen to the comms... Just who is Starscream? Kinda a weird call-sign..."

If I were in mech form, I would have smacked my head with my hand. I really should have known it was coming, but really? Just how many people on the base had missed my presence? I wasn't exactly hiding, nor had I transformed a few times in secret... And my escapade the other day had caused quite an uproar. So really? Did he _have_ to ask?

"It is my name, not a call-sign," I sighed. I knew Nick was keeping his laughter in as I felt him shake, and his temperature rose slightly. At least he thought it was amusing... "As for who I am, I'm currently heading the team."

The humans said on occasion, you could see a giant question mark form over someone's head when there were extremely confused. I had ignored the idea completely, knowing it was just an expression. But I could practically feel his confusion pouring off of his jet, and I knew if I were too look over, I'd see the proverbial question mark over the him. It was rather funny.

"What do you mean?" I "sighed" once more.

"You see the F-22 in front of you?"

"Yeah...?"

"Do the math," was all I said before I pinged the team and broke off from the formation to scout the area below. They broke off and split into separate directions just a split second after me, and remained quiet. I searched via radar and external sensors as I listened to both comm frequencies. The Canadians were extremely quiet... perhaps they'd pulled their civilian airliners out of the skies until further notice?

We searched in a grid like pattern reminiscent to avalanche search and rescue. In fact, I'm fairly sure that's where we picked the technique up from, though I wasn't positive. My sensors weren't picking anything up, and it worried me. I should have at least found the wreckage areas fairly quickly, and the fact the radios were quiet just upset me more.

The search continued on for about fifteen minutes before anything happened. Unfortunately, it was for the worse. The Canadian's had apparently lost their good grace and had enough with allowing the enemy to scour their lands and sent their forces after us. I didn't hear them coming until they fired on us.

And of course, the first shots hit my wings, which were still feeling a bit sensitive from the wounds inflicted earlier.

I jerked into an instinctive roll and I felt Nick scan the area in response, trying to find the attacker on my radar. They were approaching from the left of us and were firing rapidly at the team. "Slaggers... I didn't hear them utter a word!"

"Prepare to engage team, they ain't happy!" Nick exclaimed, banking us in a hard right. I rolled as we turned, narrowly missing a wing clip with Bubbles who had turned left to avoid an attacker.

"Cheese-it! Watch your six!" Brigg yelled, making me flinch slightly. Brigg wasn't one to talk though, as he had three following him as well.

"Right back at you," I stated, bringing one of them down, causing the others to break away. He said a quiet thank you.

_**~ Bring it down!~**_

_**~ It's too fast!~**_

_**~Nonsense! We have superior vehicles to that design! Bring it down, now!~**_

__Oh here we go... "Nick, this may be a wild ride. You may want to hang on..." I said as the Canadian comms filtered through my internal speakers. I felt him shift in confusion at them moments before I performed a spiral dive, four enemies following closely. They weren't going to be easy to lose...

"What's going on Star? What're they talking about?"

"They're talking about me. What else?" I asked mockingly. "I'm not entirely sure myself, I just know they're going to give me hell if I don't out maneuver them."

And I used a human curse word. I hadn't done _that_ in a while...

"Starscream, if we head over the mountains-" Nick began, though my attention immediately jumped to one thing. The signal on my radars was impossible, and its appearance was enough to freeze my thoughts in one place. There was simply no way... After all, Bumblebee was... gone now. There was no other Cybertronian in the universe to give off a signal, except myself. So then, what the slag was on my radar??

"Star?" Nick's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I felt a few hits across my armor. "Are you with me?"

"Detour," I replied, shooting up higher in the stratosphere. The ships weren't designed for space travel like I was, and could hardly stand the higher pressures of stratos, much less go further up, as I did.

"Burnout?" everyone questioned at once.

I made sure to keep the cabin pressurized and sealed. Nick was shaking, not used to being so high up and I couldn't blame him on that. It took a lot of effort for a human to stand the G-forces he was going through at this altitude.

"W-where...?"

"I need to check something out and get away from our detail. They're trying to bring me down. I "interest" them to some degree and I assume they wish to study me. We won't be gone long, no worries... I just need too... check." I cursed the weakness in my voice.

"W-what're... checking?" his own voice didn't sound much better.

"There's a signal broadcasting not far from here... I just need to check it out." And that was all the explaining he'd get from me, as he was almost unconscious anyway.

I saw from the higher reaches of the stratosphere, wreckage points that were probably our teammates, and I noted the coordinates so we could find them on the way back. The Cybertronian signal was much more important to me at the moment. My hope for not being alone out-weighed everything else going on. That was the Decepticon part of me coming out. An Autobot would sacrifice themselves for the humans before searching for one of there own that may or may not be there.

"Starscream, they're followin ya... Albeit, they're much lower than ya..." Bubbles called over the comms and I cursed silently. I'd be coming down into a firefight. I wasn't looking forward to it at all.

Without warning at all, the signal on my radar suddenly blipped out of existence. I cursed loudly and turned around in a sharp U-turn, lowering into the normal flight space and readying my weapons. I fired first this time as they came just within my range, and I knocked out three of the five. The others we'd been battling must have fallen back or been shot down by the others.

"Slag..." I uttered, banking a hard left. Nick had passed out, and I couldn't blame him. But the enemy was still coming at us though, down more than half of their starting number. Meaning I couldn't land to get Nick to safety any time soon, and it was too dangerous for a pilot to be unconscious, especially if there was a war going on. Mattered not if the craft he piloted was more advanced than anything else out there.

"Burnout, you alright? What was that all about?" Brigg asked, covering my tail.

"Starscream, everything alright?" Bubbles asked as well, taking up cover fire on my left wing. I grunted over the comms.

"I need to get Nick back to base. There appears to be two crash sites a few clicks from here North Northwest. If you can dodge fire, check it out. If not, fall back and I'll go in alone."

"That's too dangerous!" Cheese-it exclaimed, taking up my right side. "Its all or none. We go together here."

"You humans will only be slowing me down," I growled, twisting in a small dive to avoid a collision with an enemy fighter that avoided my shots. "If it's too dangerous, you are to fall back to base. I'll go in and search myself. No questions. That is a direct order."

"All do respect," Brigg stated, sounding smug, "We don't take orders from jets."

"You do now," I snarled. Why did humans have to pretend to be so brave? "I am listed as Nick's second in command. I give an order, you are to follow it. You can check my words back at base. Now, go search those wreckage points and fall back if needed."

With that, I put on a burst of speed leaving the others behind. They would follow my order, if only for the moment, simply because I sounded confident in what I said. In all actuality, I was listed as an advisor and not given a rank. Tops was Nick's second and Bubbles would be the third. Not that he apparently knew that...

Yet.

"Burnout? Where's the rest of the SR team?" the female in the command tower asked over the comms.

"They'll be along shortly," I said. I could practically see her tilt her head in confusion in response to a new voice. "Get a medical unit down on deck pronto."

"Prep?" she questioned.

"Possible atmospheric shock and stress related to highly advanced aerial G-forces," I replied, dipping in preparation to land. I hadn't waited for the ok to do so... I was probably going to get chewed out later for it, but right now, I had no time.

Medical issues were first concern.

My team was my next.

I touched down as softly as I could, trying not to jostle Nick around too much. It took all of two minutes before the med team finally came running down the tarmac to meet us. I opened the hatch without a second thought. I winced however as the medics pulled themselves up onto my wings, stepping on various bullet wounds. Had I been in less of a hurry, I'd have told them to get off and grab a ladder like they were supposed to do.

But as it was, time was getting short.

"Holy Jesus, how'd he get like this?" one of the medics asked as the pulled him out of the restraints gently. I waited until they'd gotten him on the ground before I shifted to my mech form. The general was on his way down and I couldn't afford to taxi around to the runway. So, I opted the fast way, ignoring the surprised glances most of the crew was giving me. Instead of taking off like a normal jet, I did it the mech way, which they'd seen probably all of twice now.

All recent too.

The sonic boom I left them in was probably enough to give them all the worst of headaches. I would have laughed at their misfortune, though I was too busy thinking about everything else going on.

First, Canada was "interested" in me. Whether they knew what I truly was or not was a different story all together. If they did, I was going to be in for a lot of problem, even in routine tasks. If they figured out how to bring me down, which I doubted at the moment, I'd be screwed.

Next was the mysterious signal that just popped up, and just as randomly, disappeared. That was going to bug me until I figured out what it was. If it was a true Cybertronian, then... everything changes. If it's not, I need to figure out what it is that's making it and destroy it so I don't hesitate in the field again.

Last, was why in the pit were Tops and Bates that far off track? Unless they were chased out there, there was no reason for the crash sites to be so far West... But if that were the case, why hadn't they said they were being herded away? Surely that was what you were supposed to do... Had they not even realized it?

That seemed unlikely, but possible.

I flew past the battle still in progress after a few moments. It had moved ever so closer to the areas I'd seen from further up, but there was no way my team had actually gone there to scope it out. Reinforcements had been sent by the Canadian's allies, continually stacking odds against us.

Bubbles twisted, tearing away from the battle and it took a moment to realize he was trying to follow me. "Need someone on your six. This isn't an easy time for scouting Starscream," he said.

"Negative. The others need you. Two against twelve isn't a very safe number. Three isn't either, but its better than two. Get back there and help the team," I growled back.

"Listen, you and I both know Burns would have one of us on your six if he were here. Yeah, he'd prolly be the one, but either way, you need someone to cover you. The others are falling back when they get an opening."

"You are to lead them back. Don't argue with me on this. Get out of here. We'll discuss insubordination later. Now is not the time," I knew that was going to come back later and bite me in the aft. Oh well. I blame my old rank as Air Commander, as that was the tone I normally used with my former trine when they went against orders.

For a moment, I thought Bubbles was going to be stubborn and stay his course. Instead, he broke off and I thanked Primus for that. He was one of the best pilots out there, but he'd slow me down if I needed to make a fast get away. And by the looks of things, I'd need to make one.

Six of the fighters that had been battling the rest of the team were surrounding me. Trying too anyway, as I was much faster than them.

I scanned the area, trying to find the clearings in the trees that signified a crash site. Why were there so many trees on Earth? Trees are annoying in this situation. Though I admit, they are good for _some_ things... very select things...

"_**~ F-22 jet~"**_I would have glared if I were in mech form. They were using my frequency specifically. It was rare when I was contacted privately. It was something only Cybertronians had ever done, as the humans were much more wary of me than they were of the others. These ones apparently were not.

"Yes?" I questioned with no small amount of sarcasm. "How did you get this frequency?"

_**"~ We know much.~" **_was all they responded with to that question. That didn't really say much, but oh well. I wasn't going to jab them just yet. _**"~ Land immediately and exit your vehicle. You won't be harmed.~"**_

Well, that was nice to know. "No can do. You see, I'm busy. You pests are in my way, and that's never a good thing. So leave before I squish you like the flies you are." It was said lightly and sarcastically, but it held that deadly, "Don't go against me" kind of way that Megatron had been so good at. Anyone should have been able to understand, strictly by the tone, that this wouldn't end well if you went against me.

_**"~ You are in our air space. If you don't comply, we will bring you down.~"**_ As if you could catch me human.

"You're country agreed to allow us access to find our missing pilots," I growled, still scanning the area. The Canadians were still too far back to be much of a threat just yet...

_**"~ You were on a time-limit basis and your time ran out. In addition, you sent in fighter jets as your search and rescue. For all we know, you planned to attack instead of search. Surely you see our position in all of this.~"**_

__"I see your position as well as I can see your aft," I quipped, turning sharply to avoid the sudden wave of bullets. "And it's thankfully not very well. You know why there were fighter jets inbound."

_**~" Land your craft and exit the cabin. We will allow your men to extract you.~"**_

__"I don't think so..." I growled, activating my wing guns. And so it began. I kept scanning as the battle began, and I actually figured out how to steer the battle in my favor, making the search a bit easier. I merely had to fire heavily from one direction, or flee a ways back.

It was almost too easy and I was suddenly very suspicious.

When I spotted the fallen and smoking trees, I knew I'd been right about them crashing here. Flying over the areas however, I was a bit perturbed by the fact the crashed jets were seemingly gone. There was nothing in either clearing that signified a crashing jet, despite the fact I could pick up the faint ionic signatures D-10s and a few other crafts were equipped with. The pilots were missing as well.

Mission failed.

I spun upward, pulling away from the other jets that were still firing on me, sending the data I just found at the crash sites to the Comms Analyst back at the base. I hadn't realized they'd actually hit me until various places lit up in my HUD telling me I needed to fix the damage asap, though it wasn't critical.

I began plummeting to the ground suddenly when ice suddenly hit my processors, nearly making me black out. I pulled out of the fall just before a painful crash could occur. External checks showed my left side was nearly completely iced up, and I couldn't even understand how that had happened. My armor was heated by my spark.

I couldn't even feel my left wing, which was alarming. The wings, being the most sensitive, were the one part we'd be able to feel no matter what unless they were removed in some way. Most of the time, even then we were able to feel them in the sense of pain or even as "ghost limbs" as the humans had termed it with amputees. But more often it was just unbelievable pain.

And yet, all I felt was cold on my left side. I couldn't feel the air cutting through me, nor the bullet wounds I'd sustained earlier, nor could I feel any further damage. Just cold. It was... strange.

The feeling hit me again, from my right side and I skimmed the trees, trying to stay airborne. It was nearly impossible, but through sheer force of will I was gliding as best as I could. If I took a few more bullets, I'd be knocked down.

Instead of waiting, I resorted to plan B. The transformation to mech form hurt a bit more than normal, and at the same time, was much more numb. The landing I made was also fairly spectacular, as my wings weren't able to counter balance me. Instead of a slide or an even drop, I ended up flipping in an almost cartwheel type move. I had to plant my arms to keep from completely losing control, though my arms were shaky and numb as well.

It worked, to an extent. I did over rotate however, so instead of landing on my feet, I landed on my knees. Immediately I activated my arm cannons and aimed. I may have gotten two more of the slaggers down... But I felt the icy feeling hit me again around my spark casing and I groaned, falling to the ground. I wasn't able to keep myself upright, nor was I able to really even think.

Within a minute, I lost consciousness and slipped into a forced recharge.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N : This chapter is short... The first bit of this chapter jumps a bit. It's supposed to be slightly confusing as Star isn't really thinking straight here (though I'm pretty sure I made some major errors in making it flow better... sorry for any actual confusion). For all intents and purposes, he's in a state of mind that mirrors having been drugged. From what I hear, you wake up in a fog and you can think coherently, but not quite. He doesn't think very straight lines to begin with though, so maybe it works...**_

I rebooted fairly slowly compared to normal. That was my first clue that something wasn't quite right. The next was the strange cold that encompassed my frame. At first, it was hardly noticeable. But as I gradually became more aware, the cold feeling intensified. It wasn't a numbing type of cold either...

It hurt like slag!

The final clue that I was in deep crap was the fact my arms were restrained. After trying to orient myself, I found, I was laying on my wings, arms outstretched and restrained. As I realized that, I began the process of trying to figure out exactly how I'd ended up in this position. It wasn't easy, as the cold was slowing my processor and making my thoughts make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

After all, why else would I suddenly have the image of Megatron dancing? That was ridiculous and would have had me laughing if I actually could... As it was, I wasn't sure if I could even look around at the surroundings and actually make sense of any of it, so I was fairly positive my vocals were off line.

Right... How did I end up like this? Last thing I remember... was completely blurry and salvageable. Alright, so that didn't work the way I'd hoped... What now? Attempt to get free idiot. That was a dumb question to ask...

Great, now I'm talking to myself.

I flexed my arms slightly, trying to gauge the restraints. They felt fairly loose, considering what the strength a normal mech was able to put out... Stupid fleshbags.

Oh, progress. I knew the humans were responsible. That was something I suppose. Better than what I had before... Now, about getting free...

I pulled as hard as I was able, which was hardly any of my normal strength, and succeeded in breaking the right side. Upon further assessment, I realized m left arm was damaged, lowering the limited amount of control I had over it in the first place. That wasn't good... I brought my right arm around to try and work the restraint, which felt like a solid piece of sheet metal about as thick as a tree trunk.

I felt something attempting to push me back down to the position I'd been in. After a few tries of me pushing it away, I growled, finding my vocals were working fine. Well, if that's the case... I on-lined my optics, squinting at the blurry world around me. The fleshbags were using their body weight to try and get me to lay back down, and that only made me growl louder. Was I really so weakened that the humans were able to push me down like this?

Apparently so.

A very powerful jolt through my systems made me freeze and bite back a groan of pain. The humans were doing everything in their power to keep me down. Well, that wouldn't last long... I put as much power into my swing as I could, knocking all of the humans located on my right arm down to the floor. They all shouted in disdain in a jumbled sounding language.

As quick as I could, I brought the arm back to the shackle on my left side and attempted to dislodge it once again. It felt stronger than the one on my right had been... but it finally cracked apart and I sat up as much as I could. It wasn't much... I was leaning back on my left arm, trying to look intimidating.

It worked, as the humans all wore identical wide-eyed expressions.

There were restraints on my legs as well. That was troublesome. So instead of trying to break them off, I activated my weapons, pointing my right side cannon at the group before me. "What are you waiting for?" I asked with disdain when they didn't automatically start taking them off. "Get these slagging things off of me or you get destroyed fleshlings. It's not a hard thing to process."

Eh, I might just destroy them for good measure anyway, but for now, they were useful in getting these damn metal sheaths off of me.

The group literally jumped to do as I commanded. It was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time... I felt in control, despite the fact I wasn't even completely online as of yet. They worked with the locks I hadn't noticed before hand, though it took them a while as they were shaking with fear. Which wasn't unfounded. I was more than happy to allow them to be fearful of me.

After all, wasn't I someone to be feared?

I honestly couldn't remember, but that sounded right... and wrong at the same time.

"_**Please don't kill us!" **_one of the humans exclaimed in that strange language. It took me a moment to realize I actually somewhat understood what was being said and I was tempted to laugh at the man. He was a scientist it seemed, as he was wearing a white lab coat and safety goggles. Actually, all of the humans must be scientists.

And for some reason, that made me calm slightly. I didn't actually want to kill them. Perhaps seriously maim, but not kill. Interesting. They seemed normal enough... so why the sudden change of heart? No matter.

"Calm down," I whispered. The pounding of their hearts was grating on my audio sensors. As I focused a bit more, I noticed just how pale they looked with fear. Interesting species to allow their emotions to be so easily seen. How had they gotten to this stage in advancement?

The restraint clicked and suddenly I was free. Of that one anyway... the humans moved with hesitation to the ones holding my legs down. A few even went as far to send me questioning glances that seemed more suspicious than anything else. I can't say I blamed them, but even still. Did they not comprehend the fact I was dangerous and they should follow my order?

Even weakened as I was, I would easily be able to take their heads off with a single swipe of my left arm, even if it wasn't responding to easy motions. It was simply a matter of leverage, and laws of gravity. Surely they realized that, just by the fact I was so much larger than them...

The fact I was free on my upper half should have made them even more willing to follow my command. Their very lives were in my control after all.

When the final cuff was off, I attempted to stand up. I was very off balance, though I hid it fairly well from the humans who were cowering before me. They were so tiny, they had to crane their heads up to look at me, which amused me somewhat. Their eyes never left my form and I would have laughed at the continued fear they showed.

They should have realized if I was going to kill them, I'd have done so. As it was, I wasn't complaining about the fearful respect. It seemed familiar... though I know its something I hadn't had in a long time. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't even sure how long I'd been out. Was Megatron still around? I know we set him free, but my memories were so jumbled I couldn't figure anything out in chronological order.

What the slag happened to me?

I hadn't noticed I was growling until I caught sight of the humans scurrying for cover. I almost laughed at the automatic response, though I merely took a threatening step toward them. "Where are we?" I asked. They had spoken that strange language earlier... I had to wonder if they'd understand... English I believed it was. That was the primary language I knew of this world.

The humans glanced at each other from their various hiding places. I felt their core temperatures rise slightly, and I didn't quite know how to interpret the response. They all shifted, as if uncomfortable and I started to wonder if they really _couldn't_ understand me. But then, one of them slowly stood up after crawling out from under a desk. "You were captured by our military forces in British Columbia just past Vancouver. You've been transported here for study," the scientist was rather forth-coming with the information. It automatically made me suspicious.

"And where is _here_ human?" I sneered, flexing my claws.

"You are in the Province of Quebec..." he squeaked. I narrowed my optics, trying to figure out just where this Province of Quebec was in relation to anything on this dirt ball planet. I suppose it would help if my memory would actually load correctly and allow me to figure out just what was going on currently...

I stayed silent, trying to access various programs that were either barely operational or trying to activate the ones that weren't working at all. Within a minute, my HUD was listing various parts of me that were damaged and needed medical attention. The list included my wings and propulsion systems, as well as navigations and gyros, meaning I wasn't flying anywhere until I could get those back online. Slag, I'd be lucky to walk across the room without falling over or needing to brace myself for balance...

So walking anywhere would be a problem... How in the name of Primus was I getting out of here? It was severely doubtful I'd be rescued... never ceased to amaze me how often I've been left to my own devices and actually lived through them. Seemed to be my one redeeming quality.

I wouldn't put it past _Lord _Megatron to have kept me around simply for the fact I could get out of any situation alive and mostly undamaged.

My HUD suddenly flashed, and I felt my systems begin attempting to take care of some of my damage. Well, that was a relief... My self repair system would take care of most of the internal issues I was having, meaning my sense of time and self would come back in a bit. Thank Primus for small favors...

I'd have to fix my wing damage and thrusters on my own. That would be slightly difficult, as I didn't have the ability to reach certain parts of my wings that needed attention. I'd be slagged before I allowed the humans to touch me, even if they were scared stiff of me.

"My colleagues wish to know what you're planning to do now that you're... well, free?" the human brave enough to speak to me before asked. I fought the urge to squish the pest. Instead, I growled lightly, enjoying the flinch the flesh-ling made at the sound. Humans were such strange creatures... I vaguely noticed the others all jumped as well, though I was focused on the one before me.

The human didn't seem afraid. At least, not as much as he should have seemed. His eyes were locked on my right optic. The eye contact was strange to me. Not many were brave enough to make eye contact with me... yet here this human was, barely a fraction of my size, staring me back with a determined expression.

"How do I get out of here flesh-bag?" I asked, showing my teeth. As I expected, the human shuddered and stepped back on instinct, though he was still maintaining his determination and eye contact, annoying as it was.

I would make sure the bomb the slag out of this place when I finally got out, if only because of this one human.

"You don't," he said evenly. Another growl escaped me, and I crouched in a defensive position. This human would regret denying me my freedom... I'd make sure of it! The human lost his brave face and nearly fell back on his backside in attempt to scramble away from me. So the human is fearful now... smart little flesh-bag...

"What do you mean I don't? You better just tell me how to get out puny human. I can kill you simply by moving my finger," I said lowly, leveling the smaller with a deadly glare to rival Megatron.

"Y-you can't l-leave... The military won't l-let you..." the man stuttered. I bit back a curse. Of course... the military would have been the ones to supposedly _capture_ me... If they did it before, they could do some serious damage this time with my systems being so fragile... I'd need a plan and properly functioning wings and thrusters, at the very least!

"Then make them let me," I growled again, twitching my wings slightly. They shot signals of pain through my frame and I fought to keep a straight face. What the slag did they _do_ to me??

I ran another system check, trying to pinpoint the area of pain. My HUD flashed suddenly and I remembered feeling numb and... cold before I crashed. How long it had been from that crash, I wasn't sure, but something told me that was the last thing to have occurred before I slipped into was helpful... slightly.

They knew cold would bring me down. Apparently it had worked after all...

I scanned the room discretely. All around me were tools I'd seen in the hangar Megatron had been imprisoned for so long... though they were more advanced, and if I didn't know any better, I'd have said they held a certain touch of Cybertronian in their design. That was strange... I knew humans had studied Megatron to gain scientific advancement, but why did these look even more advanced? Megatron was studied in the US... and I was fairly sure the Province of Quebec was not United States territory... Plus, the machines I vaguely remembered seeing before weren't that infused with Cybertronian tech.

So, where'd these humans find the designs?

In the far right corner, there were a few wire hook ups I assumed were meant to attach into my own systems. I glared at the machines, feeling my weapons automatically come online and I aimed at the station. Without regard for anything, I fired at the wiring, not really hearing the scientists' cries of alarm.

I hadn't even realized I was wobbling in place. Whether it was from anger or my lack of balance, I wasn't entirely sure, but I cursed at the sound of alarms going off in the room. I soon also heard the sound of humans rushing toward this lab and I groaned. I just made my freedom known to others that were not the gullible scientists.

I trained my weapons on the door and watched as several more of the squishy beings hurried in, all wearing combat ready uniforms. They held their own guns at the ready, waiting for me to move.

I obliged, shifting to train my right wing cannon on the scientists while I glared in hatred at the new comers. I growled once more and whipped around in anger when I felt a burst of cold suddenly hit my already damaged right wing. I caught sight of one of the freezing devices in the hands of the scientist I'd spoken with before. He looked much more confident now, and I sneered at him.

Lot braver with that strange little gun in his hands...

He fired another shot, and the "bullet" hit my left wing, and I felt it ice nearly instantaneously, making me stumble to my knees... for some reason, this felt vaguely familiar. Perhaps it matched slightly with my previous crash?

One of the guards shot one of the ice bullets into my exposed back, and I felt it take my strength. I fell to the floor on my front side, wishing I could blast this place sky high already. I watched my HUD flicker and shut down, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before my systems would offline completely, sending me into recharge or stasis.

Last thing that passed through my mind was that my memory told me I needed to get back to base and check on Nick...

_**S/N : For a filler chapter, I hope that made sense... A small heads up for the next chapter. It's not going to be Starscream's POV. It's gonna be a surprise as to who it'll be. Can anyone guess? Anyway, ttyl everyone!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N : I went through and reread the story thus far. I usually try to avoid doing this, as it normally ends with me wanting to rewrite the story and then it never gets finished. As per usual, I want to rewrite the first few chapters, as in comparison to my newer ones, they suck! I can't stand how the first chapter especially flows... But, I have resolved to fix it later. I WILL finish this story if it kills me.**_

We'd been in here for almost a week, not counting the time we'd been unconscious. How long that had been was anyone's guess, as our hosts wouldn't tell us anything. But a week in "solitary confinement" was quite a long time for someone like me.

I could take boredom fairly well, considering I always found something to occupy my time. I was Tops after all, the day I declared I was bored was the day everyone on base knew to watch out. I never stayed bored for long, and everyone knew it.

But after being in this God forsaken cell for nearly a week, I had nothing to occupy my mind. I was officially out of ideas to keep me busy. My only options were to stare at the wall or fall asleep. Well, I could talk to Bates, but he was about as interesting as I was I supposed... which wasn't much in this place. We'd already done a lot of talking. I knew him about as well as I knew Nick at this point.

Like how his favorite color was lime green; he had a girlfriend of three years he wanted to propose too, and he was a fairly good artist.

We were across from each other. He was in the cell directly across the hallway from me, which made me roll my eyes. Canada was being nice and was allowing us to mingle as best as we could while still being prisoners. They were so kind.

I wondered what was going on back at the base. Perhaps they were trying to get us back? I sure hoped so. Selfless as I could be, I wasn't sure I could handle the boredom much longer... I wondered if the cafeteria was setting out Chinese food as they did on occasion... I loved Chinese. It was delicious to begin with, but compared to the rations I was currently surviving on, it was heaven.

"Tops, you think we'll get outta here?" Bates asked suddenly, making me jump. That was the first thing he'd said all morning. We'd been quiet since morning rations... which I might add, is at an ungodly time of the morning... and the brig was quiet other than that. We were the only ones down here, adding to the silence.

"Yeah... They'll be sending people soon. We'll get outta here, I know it."

"I don't want to be a POW," he said quietly. He was laying on his back, his arms propped behind his head as a makeshift pillow, and I assumed he was staring off at the ceiling. "Think they're going to ask us questions?"

"Prolly," I shrugged. "They wouldn't be much of an antagonist country if they didn't... I'm surprised they haven't yet." Truth was, I expected the questioning the first day we'd been in here... but, it hadn't come. In fact, we'd only ever seen someone during rations. It was odd.

"What do you think they'll ask? I don't even know what this war is about... I think we're the first POWs in the world for this war... Isn't that weird?" he asked again a strange infliction in his voice. I wondered about his sanity, though I kept that thought quiet.

"I dunno. They'll prolly ask various codes or procedures. Or maybe flight patterns. I'm fairly sure we're not the only ones, but you know the drill. Don't give up info. Revert to name rank and serial number if need be," my voice sounded horse from not having had much water. It was cold and humid in the cells, but I was still thirsty. Maybe I was getting sick.

Would be just my luck.

The sound of alarms made us both jolt upright into standing positions. The red light near the exit was flashing, and it was making a very annoying screeching sound. "Fire alarm?" Bates asked loudly in order to be heard. I heard trace amounts of humor, though he sounded mostly annoyed at the sound.

"Just our luck!" I replied, blinking a bunch when the light hit my eyes. That red light was definitely not something you wanted to look at... it was like, florescent times five!

The sound of metal assaulted our ears. It was a loud groaning sound that hurt your teeth, and we both covered our ears as it got louder and louder. When the rumble hit, we were thrown to the floor. Just what in the seven hells was going on?? This just doesn't happen, like, ever!

"This is the last time I complain about boredom!" Bates exclaimed. I barely heard him, though I knew he was shouting as loud as he could. Another rumble threw us once more, and this time, another loud sound, like metal screeching against rock or more metal, sounded, before everything went silent. Including the alarm.

Bates and I stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to figure out if it was safe to uncover our ears or not. The brig was completely void of sound and movement, and I honestly thought it was a bit creepy... A few cracks now adorned the exit wall's concrete, but other than that, everything looked about the same.

When nothing further happened, we pushed ourselves back up to a sitting position. We both shared the infamous "WTF" look. What just happened was definitely not normal, and if I were able, I would be at the heart of the investigation to find out just what was going on. But as it was, I was a prisoner. I wondered if that had been an attempt at our rescue from Nick... But, Starscream would have been able to blow the place sky high if need be with the type of fire power he had...

So... we weren't being rescued?

My hopes quite literally fell at the thought. It was suddenly extremely hard to stay positive... it was like the happy part of my mind snapped, and allowed the negative part main control. I'd never been negative in my life, but I just could figure out how to stay positive. Whereas normally I'd be joking my way out of this new event, I hunkered down in the corner and curled up, head on my knees. Hell, I almost started crying!

That wasn't something I was _ever_ going to admit however.

"What do you think that was?" Bates asked. I shrugged, not really caring if he saw or not. "Hmm, well, I think it was an experiment gone wrong. I wonder what kind of experiment it was though? Sounded big, whatever it was..." I shrugged again, only half listening.

We sat in silence for a while. Without a proper clock, I wasn't sure exactly how long it was, but it felt about two hours. I assume Bates got the hint I wasn't big on chatting at the moment, and was allowing me to mope in silence. Some part of me felt apologetic, cause he hadn't done anything to deserve the silent treatment... but I just couldn't find it in me to care. I wondered what was wrong with me. I had never been one for looking on the downside of things, but it seemed to be all I could focus on at the moment.

The door suddenly swung open, and both Bates and I craned our heads to see who was coming in. They never came at this time of day to give us rations... What was going on now?

There were three men and one woman. They were all dressed formally and looking not at all like the normal rations personnel. They were all wearing similar scowls, which was slightly creepy in my opinion. Even if you were going for uniformity, you shouldn't be able to mimic an expression as well as these four were doing... it was a bit too much...

The lead male stepped toward my cell while the second one stepped toward Bates. Both Bates and I tensed in instinctive reaction. The female crossed her arms, and the final male moved to the center of the hallway, preparing to speak. "You will come with us and answer our questions accordingly," he said lightly. Bates scoffed and I blinked at him. They didn't actually think it would be that easy, did they?

When the doors swung open on our cells, Bates and I both lunged, ducking the arms that attempted to grab us on our impromptu escapade. I heard the female laugh an annoying laugh, and the males all yelled in frustration before the sound of footsteps followed us. I would have taunted them for being so naive, but as it was, I just wanted _out_. We swung down the corridor pushing various personnel over if we came across them in order to put some distance between us.

My throat was burning. I hadn't had any water today, and the running wasn't helping. I wondered if I truly was sick for all of three seconds before I threw the thought out, opting to think only on escaping. It was going to take a lot of effort to escape the compound alive... We didn't know layouts, nor did we know how we'd get home. We really hadn't thought things through before leaping... No matter, I was Tops! I can figure my way out of even the toughest of scenarios!

Alarms suddenly blared and I knew this was only going to get more difficult. Oh well, so long as the ground didn't start shaking, I supposed we had a chance... We ducked into a mop closet when we didn't see anyone around. Sure, there was going to be security cameras and such, but I hoped we'd caused enough of a stir to keep them off of us for a while.

"I can't believe we're still alive!" Bates whispered, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. I nodded back, grinning lightly. That was actually almost fun. If it weren't for the whole, "we're in enemy territory and one misstep would mean your life" thing, I'd swear that felt like we'd just pulled the biggest prank on the general back on base and we were running to avoid being court-marshaled.

"I can't believe it either," I responded, rubbing my sore throat. "We're not outta the woods yet though..." How in the seven hells were we going to get out of here?

The sound of metal screeching reached us again, and we covered our ears before bracing the wall. Just what were they doing to cause such a ruckus?? And why would they continue to do so when they had escaped POWs running around?

Sure enough, the rumble hit once more, only it felt bigger this time. Despite being braced by the wall, both of us sprawled on the floor, Bates falling over my back in the small enclosed space. Boy, he was a lot heavier than he looked!

My heart stopped when the door for the closet we were in opened. The woman in the entry just gawked at us with wide eyes. It wasn't the same one who'd come to pick us up, but she looked very similar. Whereas the one from before had straight black hair about shoulder length, this had her dark brown hair pulled in a bun. They both were about the same height, at least, it seemed so, and they had the same hazel/green eyes. Perhaps sisters?

What it mattered to me, I have no idea. She was going to turn us in, and we'd probably be shot for this. My hopes of escape died once again, leaving me glaring at the girl. But, instead of stepping into the hallway to shout for backup, she stepped in the closet with us and closed the door.

Bates was staring at her, not really believing what was going on, and I know my expression was about the same. She smiled at us, and I couldn't help giving her the "WTF" look. "If I wanted to turn you in, I would," she said. "But as it stands, I think you are cute, and need quite a bit of help to get out of here."

I grinned stupidly while Bates' expression suddenly turned suspicious. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice as low as it could get with the screeching sounds. "And what is that noise??"

The girl suddenly looked sad, or depressed. "I want out too. I'm not as much of a prisoner here as you are, but I am still unable to leave the base. As for the noise, I'm hoping that's our ride... I just hope it isn't too damaged."

We blinked at her. She was a prisoner? That didn't seem right... and I suddenly turned suspicious as well. "Just what exactly are you planning to have get us out of here? And why would it be making that god-awful noise?" I asked, staring at the door.

She moved to look me directly in the eye. Well, that was unnerving... "I'm not entirely sure what it is," she said cryptically. Great, trusting our lives to the unknown. That was smart... and completely like something I would do! A girl after my own heart. "Your country has kept many things from the world..."

"Say what?" Bates asked, squinting at her. "What were we keeping from you?"

She glared at him, "You know full well what I'm talking about! That thing we have in the science lab is dangerous! How did you manage to create it?"

"What are you talking about?" I threw back at her with as much annoyance as I could muster. The screeching stopped suddenly and we all shared a wide-eyed glance.

"You really don't know?" she asked, quirking one of her eye brows in confusion. "It was on your team... How could you not know the F-22 was a weapon of mass destruction??"

It all clicked for me. Bates was still confused, but I understood right away at the mention of the F-22. How in the seven hells did they capture him?? And what were they doing to him to elicit the response we were hearing?? Was Nick here too??

"What of the pilot? Is the F-22 pilot here?" I asked quickly.

"No... The F-22 had no human pilots... Was there supposed to be one?" she asked back. I blinked at her, feeling dread over come me.

"Where is it being held? We need to get out of here..." I whispered. "What's being done to the F-22?"

"The science team is trying to figure out how it works..." she said and my eyes widened. Just what did _that_ mean? "I'll show you where it's being held. But we have to stay out of sight. We're wanted fugitives now."

"Lovely," Bates muttered. I sent him a small glare.

"When do we get the privilege of moving from this chlorine smelling closet?" she shifted at my comment with a glare of her own. Well, good to see the feeling was mutual.

"When things calm down slightly. They'll be looking for us. If we move now, we're bound to get caught. If we wait, they will probably start thinking you've escaped the base and will start searching the entirety of Quebec. We'll wait for a few more minutes before moving our location to one of the unused labs in this sector."

I blinked. Quebec? Weren't we on the other side of the country? Why would they search Quebec? Then it hit me. We'd been relocated. Oh, that made things just oh so much better. "Ok... and how much longer till we can get Starscream out of wherever he's being held?" I asked. I mentally scorned myself for calling him by name. That was not a protocol thing to do!

"Starscream?" she asked, giving me a look. I rolled my eyes. "Is that what it is called?"

"I wouldn't have called him that if it weren't his name..." I muttered, watching her comprehend the meaning of what I just said. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would have. She made an "O" with her mouth, before quirking a brow.

"So, it is sentient?" she asked. "I haven't had the chance to look at it yet. But I heard it nearly escaped earlier this week. Scared the science team quite a bit too. I've never been more shocked. Not that it was a bad thing.. that team has a few screws loose, but still. Nothing ever rattles them."

I shifted. Screamer had almost escaped? Only almost? What did they do to him? I was fairly sure he should have been able to avoid being caught no matter what... but to only almost escape was nearly unthinkable. "He's not a simple machine, I'll say that much. Which is more than I should say."

She glared at me then. "If you think you can't trust me, think about this. If I'm caught right now, like you, I'll be thrown in the brig for my entire life for fraternizing with the enemy. So, start trusting, cause I'm your only way out of here."

_**S/N : Weird place to end... yes. Another filler chapter down! Next chapter will still be out of Star's POV. Just as a heads up. Who will it be? Bates? Tops again? Nick? or this new girl who literally came out of nowhere in this story? Honestly, I have no idea where she came from...**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N : So... I just realized, I made a goof. Bates was not actually called Bates to begin with. When he was introduced, he was called Ltn. Baker. Whoops! Why didn't anyone mention the fact this Bates guy came out of nowhere? I feel really dumb now. =P**_

_**As for the female character who randomly showed up last chapter. I took to calling her a name you're going to recognize and are probably going to yell at me for. I hadn't meant for the name to be... well, what it was, but this character is developing on her own without much say from me. Just know she's not the same Alexis as the one in Armada.**_

_**I'm sorry this was so delayed... I hit a bit of a writer's block, and I was being lazy. But, again I say, I'm determined to finish this fic! I estimate we're about half way through, give or take a few chapters...**_

_**I've also (spur of the moment) started writing another fic. Star will still be a main character, and I'm thinking so will Bee and Cade. Perhaps a few others as well. But I don't think I'm going to make it connect with Immortal... it'll stand on its own. And we'll see how far it goes. *grins***_

_**Ok, so, as I said before. This chapter isn't Starscream's POV. This is... drum roll please! (Read to find out! I'm sure it'll be obvious though)**_

_**#%#%**_

So here we were, in a giant science lab that looked like something out of an ancient horror flick. The three of us had finally moved about two hours after our "jail break", once the alarms and the commotion had died down. Upon arriving in the lab, I felt my stomach twist in a nauseating flip flop.

Starscream was being held down by some sort of ice. I didn't think it was liquid nitrogen, but I was sure it had the same affect on him as nitrogen had on any computer system. The Cybertronian was also in full on robot form, and I could see scientists pulling various components in different areas of his body. I was by no means an expert on alien robot physiology, but even the three of us could see the bot was in bad shape. Scorch marks were visible all over his frame, and I could see sparking wires on both wings...

Whether that was from the scientist's current prodding or previous damage, I had no idea, but either way, Screamer wasn't doing well.

"Wow, he's not quite what I'd heard of..." our tour guide, Alexis, stated. I rolled my eyes, though I was fairly sure she couldn't see it. Really... what had she expected? I cringed as I felt her hand smack my shoulder. That girl definitely had quite the punch... "Don't roll your eyes at me! I haven't had the luxury of meeting your friend."

All the more reason to roll my eyes right?

I heard the sound of metal groaning again and I cringed in response. Every scientist in the room looked to the source as well, and from what I could see, they were staring at one their own who looked rather sheepish. He was a short, fat man with gray hair, a big nose and bottle rimmed glasses. He was crouched on the flat of Starscream's wing and was holding a panel rather loosely in his hands. Starscream jerked lightly, his red optics flashing in anger before dimming back down to nothing under the influence of the ice flow.

Even I knew how sensitive his wings were... Nick and I had been on the receiving end of a few of his rants as we grew up. I'm sure even Bates knew at this point, and he'd only known Screamer for a short time. These guys were tearing his wings without a care in the world, and I suddenly felt the urge to shoot everyone in the room.

But that would be suicide and I wasn't exactly ready for that option. Instead, we had to plan, and then I'd get revenge for Starscream... and Nick.

I'd come to terms with the idea Nick was probably dead or missing. Bates and I knew he hadn't been in the holding cells with us, and Alexis told us there were no other detainment centers on this base. I'd mourn for him later, as now we had slightly more pressing things to deal with. If it wasn't for the infamous military calm you learn when you joined a branch, I was fairly sure I'd be curled up in a corner crying somewhere like a little girl who lost her teddy bear.

I was sure Nick would just oh so much enjoy that little simile. Nick, a teddy bear... ha!

"So, how do you suppose we should get him out?" Bates asked, squinting at the surroundings. The area was large and full of hiding places. And, as I took a better look at the far wall, there was a warehouse door similar to the ones back on base. Hopefully, that meant they were an exit.

As a generalization, scientists were fairly easy to scare. I'd played enough jokes and pranks on our science staff to know they knew some witty come backs, but were fairly against the idea of using weapons, let alone facing one down. Unfortunately, none of us had any type of fire arm or explosive on us. Being fugitives meant we couldn't easily scout some out either.

Alexis sighed, standing up despite our gasps and silent urging to sit back down before she gots us caught. She walked away from us, and we watched with wide eyes as she moved to the center of the room. I knew she wasn't a friendly!

Several of the scientists turned to watch her in curiosity. She stopped before the ice machine and flicked a switch on it. The silence in the room added another layer of tension over everything and I bit back a silent curse. As the scientists watched Alexis, she merely stared back at them innocently.

A whirring sound caught my attention and I realized the ice machine was powering down, and the sound was causing everyone in the room to gape at it. Bates tensed beside me, ready to bolt at a moments notice at my command.

A groan filled the area, followed shortly by a hiss of hatred. I blinked, not really believing what I was seeing as Starscream's red optics flared to life once more. The scientists all jumped back and braced themselves against the wall and Bates and I followed suite, knowing they knew more about what was going to happen then we did. Sure enough, as Starscream tried to push himself up, there was a popping sound and I covered my ears at the ear piercing shriek that filled the room. Electricity was coursing through his frame, causing him to arch in pain as best as he could while he was attached to the floor.

The floor rumbled suddenly and I realized it was whatever machine they had causing the electricity that was making the commotion. So that had been what the noise was all about? I lunged from my hiding place, ready to strangle a scientist or three. No one should dare messing with Starscream!

As I barreled into the short fat one that had been working on the wing, I felt Screamer gain more leverage and, despite the massive jolt he was receiving, he sat up, snapping his restraints. A second later, he was pointing a very large cannon on his arm (well, more like it replaced his hand) at a machine in the corner and shot it. All at once, with bits and pieces flying every which way, the electricity stopped as well as the rumbling. Score one for the prisoners!

We all three ran to the Cybertronian, hoping he was alright enough to get us out of here. We nearly fell back when he growled and struck his right arm out in attempt to knock us down with a fairly nasty hiss. Screamer was not a happy camper... And it didn't seem he recognized us either.

Score one for the bad guys...

"I told you it was dangerous!" Alexis shrieked, looking absolutely terrified.

"He's not normally like this!" I shouted back, angry. I was generally pissed off today.

"Starscream?" Bates asked, surprising us all. Even the scientists were watching curiously. Starscream just stared at him, not looking very pleased. Perhaps he didn't like the fact we the supposed enemy, knew his name? I was just going to chalk it up to his being grumpy when he wakes up...

"Who are you fleshbag?" his tone was fairly even, despite the metalic groan it gave off. His voice had always been slightly high pitched and sounding forced, but now it was rather evident that whatever component allowed him to talk was damaged. Adding on to the seemingly growing list...

His left arm hadn't made a single move, and his wings looked worse for ware. I severely doubted we were flying home... He was also wobbling slightly, and I knew that wasn't a good sign. His red optics were flickering slightly as well, signifying he was low on energy. I only knew that tidbit because Nick had explained it to me when Bumblebee had suddenly slipped into recharge after his blue ones had flickered. I believed it was only through shear force of will that Screamer stayed online.

"Bates, and this is Tops and Alexis. Believe it or not, we're on the same side. They," Bates motioned at the scientists, who paled exponentially, "Are our enemies. We need to get out of here!"

For a moment, I thought Bates was going to be killed. Starscream trained his weapon on him, looking ready to shoot, and at the last minute, shot the wall the scientists had been hiding by. The wall exploded rather appreciatively, and whether the blast killed the scientists or not, I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter much. The alarm sounded not 20 seconds later, and we were scrambling to get Starscream unhooked from various machines.

Our efforts were seemingly unneeded as Screamer ripped out various wires without hesitation and stood up. I watched as he worked to stay upright, though he hid his apparent balance issue fairly well... only someone who'd known him a while would have picked up the hesitation in his stance. We just stared at each other for a moment. What now?

Starscream suddenly scooped us into his hands, eliciting a scream from Alexis and a gasp from Bates. He stared at Alexis curiously before bringing us to his shoulder and allowed us to climb down. The others hesitated while I climbed down without pause. "Brave little human," Screamer commented, and I grinned at him.

"Nope, I just know you wont hurt us, Screamer," I laughed, making myself comfortable. He gave me a strange look.

"And how are you so sure?" his tone sounded fairly indignant and it took effort to keep from laughing at him. "I have hurt more useful beings simply because they annoy me."

I kept from shivering. I knew he hadn't always been a nice guy... and it seemed he remembered that well enough... figures... "Because, you wouldn't want Nick pissed off at ya. Now lets go before the guns come in looking to offline you for insubordination!"

I felt Screamer jolt slightly at the mention of Nick. Ah, so he could remember! Jerk... Without another word, Starscream lifted his arm cannon and aimed again at a wall. Within a minute, we were being bathed in sunlight and fresh air raced into the room. This was it. We were either going to fail miserably, or we were going to finally get out of boredom hell. Starscream began moving to the exit and I noticed he was slower than he normally was, "Are you ok Screamer? I know that's a dumb question, but..."

"I'm fine human," he replied gruffly. I gave him a disbelieving glance, feeling a bit blustered by the term "human", as we passed into the outside world. I could hear the guns on their way to give us as much hell as they could. This was just perfect. We were so close! "Hold on tightly humans," Screamer warned, bouncing slightly. The three of us glanced at each other in confusion.

Without much more warning, Starscream lunged into the air and it took a minute to realize we were flying. I didn't feel any wind, only the cold air biting into my skin like ice. It was strange and completely awesome! One glance at Bates told me he seconded my opinion, and Alexis had the curiosity in her eyes that I'd come to expect from scientists.

Chancing a look down, I judged we were about 100 ft from the ground. It wasn't much, but it was better than anything I'd expected with Screamer as damaged as he was. "The... Canadians are mobilizing their military forces. We will be fired upon in a very small amount of time. Any ideas?" he asked, staring in front of him stoically.

"Not really... We haven't been planning much of anything up to this point... We just kinda escaped on short notice and we've been playing by ear since," Bates said from the other shoulder. Starscream tilted his head in thought a moment, looking slightly confused. I assumed it was the word choice.

Figures that all of the human slang he'd picked up throughout the centuries was missing from his memory... It would take forever to go through everything and explain it to him.

_**A/N : So, I've decided to add another character's POV to this chapter. I've also determined that it'll be strictly Screamer's POV following this chapter. But for the moment, lets enjoy the thought process of another. *grins***_

_**#%#%**_

It had been two weeks. The base was still in an uproar over losing two pilots and Starscream on top of it all. While a few of the personnel didn't quite know who Starscream was, we all felt his and the other pilot's disappearance as clear as day. Even the General, who hadn't exactly had the best of first impressions of Star, seemed to be at a loss.

When I'd first awoken in the infirmary, I'd been confused. I hadn't realized I'd passed out... It felt like I'd blinked and I was suddenly in medical, dressed in scrubs and I panicked. I'd run through the base, not caring who saw my backside (which, thanks to the scrubs, was open for view). I had been exhausted, but I had to check on Star. I didn't know how I'd cope with losing him and Bee so close together.

When I'd reached the warehouse, I knew before I opened the door that it was empty. I felt panic, and I'd torn off toward the tarmac, dodging various personnel here and there who attempted to grab me. I remember the pavement was scorching hot on my feet as I'd pivoted here and there.

I'd reached the tarmac fairly quickly, despite feeling like I'd fall over. After I'd scanned the area, I had found several D-10s, including Ali's usual craft (which was the one Bubbles had commandeered for the SR mission), were still missing. I remember feeling like my world had just crashed around me. Had they been shot down as well? How did I get back and they didn't?

And where in the Hell was Starscream?

When the medics finally caught me, I was talking to one of the jet mechanics, who was ignoring my current state of dress and was answering my questions as best he could. He had told me Star had dropped me off before taking off again in a flurry, and that the SR team hadn't radioed in yet. Meaning, they were all still out in the field... Only about a half hour had passed since I'd been dropped off.

The guy had been nice enough, though I didn't really know any of the mechanics... it was rare Starscream needed to be looked at by one. But I supposed they all knew me through word of mouth. It also helped that Tops was fairly infamous and I was known as his crime buddy most of the time. When it wasn't me, it was Bubbles and more recently, Bates.

I'd been dragged back through the base not long after I'd learned the time frame. An hour passed and at some point in there, I knew the team had come back. But from the commotion, they'd lost another pilot instead of gained two... I had cursed and shouted, trying to get information. I had to know who else had gone down. Joey, the head medic on our base, had finally heard enough and had yelled at me to be quiet, and had then slammed his office door closed.

I learned not long after that, that Starscream had been the one to be shot down. The information had been a bit of a blow. In my mind, Star was invincible, and the idea of him being shot down was fairly impossible. But he had been and we weren't allowed to go in and search for any of our fallen team again, by order of both the Canadians and the US. That had just pissed me off. Th only consolation was that the General, dick though he'd been, had seemed just as angry.

After I'd been released from the med bay, I'd searched for Bubbles. He was probably feeling like I was about the whole situation and I didn't really know who else to seek out. Bumblebee, Starscream and Tops were always the ones I went too when I needed to... hell, even when I didn't.

We'd hung out together ever since. The thought of their absence was slightly easier, but it was still enough to knock us both into an emotional breakdown. I felt weak, and I knew he did too, but we both knew we'd get through it. I hadn't ever realized how strong our ties were as a team until now...

"There's pastries in the cafeteria," Bubbles said, entering the rec room. He was pointedly trying to get me to eat something I suppose. I could never turn down something sweet. "All sorts too. They must have paid an arm and a leg for it. They never have anything like what they got in there. They must be celebrating something."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, they would be. I wasn't much in the mood for celebrating... I figured much of the base wasn't either. Tops' disappearance was enough to sober even the cranky medics. "I'll take something to snack on, but I'm not really hungry."

"That's all I ask ya do," Bubbles grinned, looking like he was forcing the movement as best he could. Even his sparky personality was downtrodden. That was unnerving...

Sometimes I wondered how our team functioned. I had a jet that could think and move by itself, Bubbles and Tops were always smiling and one or the other was always pulling some sort of prank, and Bates... well, I didn't know him too well yet, but he seemed to be just like those two. I was the quietest out of all of us, and I was the one leading them!

Well, I had been anyway... two thirds of us were gone.

The walk to the cafeteria was fairly quiet. It always seemed to be so these days... But we were both lost in thought more so. Where as before we'd exchange forced grins or smiles, or shrug or laugh at someone/thing as we passed, we were staring straight forward with out much regard for anything around us.

Most of the base was avoiding us... I noticed it earlier in the day when I'd nodded at a group of army personnel. They were normally the more chatty of the branches outside of the Air Force. This time it seemed a mere nod would be all the chatting I'd be receiving. I'd noticed a few other groups after that had been fairly similar.

"We're being ignored," Bubbles stated suddenly, peering at me through the side of his eyes. I nodded slightly, staring at the group of marines who stared back as we passed. "Most of the base are acting like this. They're acting like we're fragile and the smallest glance is going to break us."

"Or make us disappear," I replied, locking eyes with him. He nodded, tipping his cowboy hat. I remembered vaguely that he'd gotten that on a whim while out on the town as a joke. He'd surprisingly worn it ever since when we weren't in (and sometimes even when we were, just to annoy the commandos) uniform. "I noticed it too."

"Quite annoying when you go to ask a question and you get the vaguest of answers. Or when you say howdy to someone and they just kinda gawk at you like you've grown another head," he continued, nodding at Ali as she passed. Ali was a tall brunette with a sweet personality. She took piloting very seriously and was fairly good at maneuvers, despite her status as rarely going out for a fly. It used to be hard to get her to stop talking in the halls...

But now, she merely nodded back at Bubbles and continued on her way. If nothing else, that gave me the proof that what Bubbles and I were talking about had valid evidence. "Yeah, see ya later Ali..." I muttered to her retreating back.

"Bit annoyin when we can't even talk to those we know pretty well..." Bubbles' voice was subdued. He liked Ali if I remembered correctly...

The sweets Bubbles had mentioned, looked absolutely mouth watering. I was hard pressed to find one I didn't like... I wondered what was going on to warrant this? It was certainly not normal... I made an "oo" sound as I picked up a triple chocolate chunk cake slice. "Wow, the chefs out did themselves today..." Bubbles laughed at my reaction. I was the literal vision of a kid in a candy store.

"Yeah, and no one knows what's going on. Maybe it's all about to expire or something? But it tastes fresh and trustworthy... So who knows?" he shrugged. I responded by taking a big bite and I practically melted from the burst of chocolate that rushed to my taste buds. Depressed and distress be damned for this one moment... I was going to lose myself in the sugary goodness!

That was when Bubbles and I heard our names on the intercom. We gazed at each other with dazed expressions. Where we recieving orders already? I had been under the impression we had a bit of a break to deal with the "psychological blow"... We had both assumed that actually, judging the look Bubbles was exhibiting....

We quickly moved to meet our base General. Taylor, in my eyes, was an odd assortment of hot tempered and kind hearted. The new General hadn't made many official orders regarding base staff or missions... so I honestly didn't know what to be expecting from our meeting in the comms room. I certainly hadn't expected a broad smile from him...

"I have good news team..." he said and I could have cursed his term use... we couldn't be a true team with only two... I kept quiet though, semi-curious. "At approximately 0840, our comms officer received a transmission from another base located in North Dakota. The message was brief. "You have wayward pilots inbound, and they won't be hard to miss." The ionic signature they forwarded, is Starscream's own."

I suddenly felt like I was floating in the air, not really paying attention to the words going on around me. The tones said Bubbles was ecstatic, and really, I suppose I was too, I was just too numb. I thanked all deities I could think of. Our friends... family, was coming home! "How long?" I barely heard myself ask.

"Trajectory shows they'll be here soon. Perhaps in little over an hour," General Taylor stated. I smiled largely, trying to tame my sudden shaking. "No ones seen hide nor hair of them as of yet. The ND base was the first and only to receive any radio signal, and Starscream didn't come close to their visuals. We're not entirely certain if this is an attack or our men returning home. So keep guard. I felt I should let you know however."

I couldn't sit still the entire time we waited. We were on the tarmac, ready to jump in our birds at a moment's notice if needed, but I knew it was just over precaution. I wasn't entirely sure how, but I knew Starscream's message was legit. He hadn't been seen at all, which was fairly typical behavior for him most days... so I'd heard. He could fly stealth better than any Enigma 766's, which was saying something as the Enigmas were elite class... invisible in visual, audio and radar.

The rest of the base had become aware of the good news slightly before we had a chance to tell anyone. Now, the entire place had become one of giddy happiness and prank-war planning. Chaos was literally everywhere in the halls and rec rooms, and I suspected every other room, nook and cranny were the same. The dreary atmosphere that had over-looked us all was lifted.

I jerked, realizing I could hear Star's jets. I frantically searched the sky, trying to spot the incoming F-22... and I gasped at instead seeing the outline of Starscream in mech form. He wasn't far off the ground and was hardly going any normal speed... and he was wobbling in the air, seemingly unable to keep a steady course. I watched in growing horror as he landed rather strangely, falling to his knees and catching himself with his hands. I took note of the damage I saw...

Scorch marks... his wings looked forcibly ripped apart, exposing the wiring and components beneath to the world... His left arm was seemingly having problems... the balance issue he'd had upon landing... his optics were dimmed as low as possible and still flickering, and I knew he needed rest right away...

Then I noticed his... passengers. Tops was grinning broadly from his perch on Star's right shoulder, and Bates was smiling happily from Star's left with a girl I'd never seen before. The girl looked a bit apprehensive, but was looking happy all the same. Star however, was looking much more guarded than normal, and I wondered how injured he truly was...

"Nick!" Tops shouted, waving and I laughed back, truly relieved. "We're home everyone! Miss us?" A loud cheer errupted from everyone present and even some who were watching through windows here and there. The noise caused a small flinch from Starscream, who looked suddenly lost in everything.

"Screamer?" Tops asked, and I barely heard him. Starscream was glaring at everyone around us, including me. He was also crouched slightly, favoring his left side and his wing were twitching in what I could only assume was rage of some sort. He looked ready to online his plasma gun and shoot us all down for petesake!

"You humans get too close and I'll gun you down," he warned, pointing a long claw at every single one of us. I cringed at the metalic sound his voice gave offThe look on his face told me he wasn't playing around, but what got me was the lack of recognition. He wasn't realizing we were friends... "You're lucky I haven't done away with you already."

"Star?" I asked, stepping forward out of the crowd, who all looked shocked. Most of them had seen Star in mech form by now, and knew he generally wasn't as on guard as he currently was. And the rest of the base knew Star in some way shape or form...

He focused on me. His glare lessened slightly and I gave a small smile. Even if he didn't recognize everyone, he seemed to realize who I was. That made me feel better... "You are Nick," he said with a toneless voice. I nodded back at him. "We made it home then?"

I grinned, nodding again. He relaxed immediately and wobbled a bit, prompting him to lower to his knees. "Star, what's wrong?" I asked, already knowing most of the damage as it was visible.

"Nothing that won't heal over time human. I do require assistance of your... mechanics however," he said thoughtfully, gazing at the line of mechanics behind Bubbles and I. He then lowered his three passengers to the ground and we watched as he transformed to his F-22 alt. mode. As the mechanics hurried over to the severely damaged looking jet, I suddenly found myself crushed in a hug by Tops, who was grinning still. Bates had already taken Bubbles from behind with his own bone crushing hug.

When I was released, I barely had time to take a breath before I realized they'd switched positions, and Bates was suddenly crushing me. Everyone behind us laughed at the little show of affection. Ali was laughing and crying from where I could see her by her jet, and I caught sight of Joey, the CMO, who was smiling fondly. Glad to see we were well liked.

"You have no idea how much you guys were missed," I said, locking eyes with Tops. He smiled sheepishly, and Bates followed his example. Bubbles nodded solemnly.

"You should have seen how mopey everyone was. 'twas rather funny to think of now, but it was overall one big sad feeling no one could get over," he said, much quieter than his normal chipper voice. It was a sound I'd grown used to, but Tops' eyes widened at the tone though he didn't say anything.

"Sorry to intrude on your little reunion," the girl who'd come in with them broke in, "But what should I be doing right now?"

She was nervous, it was easy to see. She fidgeted with her hands and she was shaking from either too much adrenaline or hunger, I couldn't tell which. Her hazel eyes were bright and wide, and I was fairly sure she was catching every movement around her. "What's your name?" I asked gently. She was on edge, and was bound to see a threat with anything.

"Alexis Sutherland, biochemist," she said, and I felt my teammates jerk in surprise at the biochemist part of her introduction.

"She helped us escape from the Canadian base we'd been on... but she didn't tell us she was a scientist," Bates frowned. I didn't really think the title was much to worry about, but he and Tops seemed suddenly hostile in their stances. It made me wonder just what the hell was going on?

"I didn't think it mattered at the time," she waved off. "I'm willing to do whatever your commander wants in order to prove I mean you all no harm. I'm just as appalled at the science team's actions as you are, though I admit I wasn't at first. Now I know Starscream isn't a normal machine. I have basic morals when it comes to life and experiments you know."

That made me stiffen. Just what had this science team been doing to Starscream?

"Team," our general's voice broke in. "I want you in the Brief Room for a debriefing in two hours time. Get to the med bay, to be checked out, then get some food in you. Young lady, if you'll come with me?"

As we watched the general and Alexis walk away, we all turned toward Joey, who motioned us to follow him to the med bay for a usual batch of check ups. I cringed, thankful it wasn't me going through them, though I felt sorry for Bates and Tops!


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N : So, here's the new chapter! Thank you all so much for the reviews... And I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewing Change of Character as well. Anyway, this chapter is a bit short me thinks... but it's something. A small update for the time being. Anyway, read on!**_

Were I in mech form, I would have been scowling. As it was, it was taking severe effort to keep from running over the humans before me. Their only saving grace was that they were banging out the dents all over the frame of my alt mode, and fixing what damage they were able. It was painful, but it was over all having a positive effect as I was starting to feel better, despite the ache their ministrations were leaving.

They were far from gentle, but I was used to that. Hook had never been known for being gentle, as he was not really even a technical medic, and my wing-mates had no idea how to keep reparations painless. They were much more chatty though, and it was grating on my nerves, keeping me from the recharge I was desperately needing.

But I refrained from attacking them. Something was telling me it was better I put up with the annoying pests. I could put up with them... having endured much worse tortures in the past. This was a mere annoyance. One I'd dispose of later.

My memory cortex was damaged. I had no sense of logical flow in the time frames of my memories. I was even fairly sure some of my memories were damaged to the point I couldn't access them. That was a particularly sobering thought. I hadn't had the best of memories... but some of them had been worth keeping, of that I was sure.

I could remember various things, but again, not in particular order. I knew Optimus Prime was dead. I don't know if it was by Megatron's hand or an accident, I just knew the concept. Just like I knew the concept of the War being over, and that I knew Nick. I wasn't sure how I knew all of this, as the memories were absent, but the impressions were still there. I knew that much.

I felt a tap at my internal console and I tried not to jerk. I was still not used to the idea of humans in my internals, but one was working in my cabin and he apparently thought it was a good idea to tap his large wrench on my console to get my attention. "What human?"

"What's this hard casing down here? I'm not a big expert on this jet's make up, but I'm fairly sure no jet has this," he tapped the casing fairly lightly and I twitched, earning a few indignant cries from the personnel on my wings.

"Don't touch it again human!" I exclaimed, growling lightly. "Unless of course you value your pathetic life. It is in all essence, my "heart", and the smallest touch, meant or not, can kill you in an instant." I don't know what possessed me to reveal even that much to the human. Oh well, not much to be done about it now.

"Right-O Starscream. Won't touch it again." And he didn't. In fact, he avoided it as if I'd told him it contained a plague of some sorts. A Pandora's Box.

"Stop twitching!" one of the mechanics on my wing stated loudly, tapping me as I twitched from a jolt of sensation. "We're trying our best not to hurt ya, but you're twitching isn't making it easy! Come on, we're basically performin surgery on ya!"

"My apologies, I had no idea it was bothering you," I quipped, sounding sincere. That was a new tone... "You should try being... in surgery as you put it, while you are still fully conscious. I assure you, it is not the grandest of sensations." The human grunted what sounded like an apology and quietly went back to repairing the wiring in the base of my wing.

"How's it coming boys?" Nick's voice rang out and I was hard pressed to stay still. Why I was so in tuned with the human male was beyond me. As far as my memory showed me, I'd never met him, but I knew his name and the sound of his voice as if I'd known him my entire life. He was smiling at me, looking as happy as could be, and I wondered why he was happy to see me of all mechs. Surely I was one to be feared, not one to look forward to seeing...?

"It's coming slowly", the mechanic working on my internals stated, popping his head above the rim of the cabin. "Your jet has quite a quirky personality when it comes to being worked on." His jet? Just what did they think I was?? I did not belong to this human! I didn't belong to anyone!

"He's got a quirky personality any way," Nick replied, frowning at my twitch of anger. I wonder if he knew me well enough to guess my "body language" as the humans called it. Most likely, if the calming pat on my nose cone was anything to go by. He was staring at me with what looked like concern.

"Easy Star, they're just trying to help you..." he whispered, and I grunted, curious at the calming affect he had on me. "I know you can't stand being worked on, but you were damaged pretty badly... it was a wonder you were able to get here at all..."

And that was true. I'd pushed myself too hard to get here. I honestly don't know why I had believed coming cross country was a good idea, especially as I had no recollection of having been in "Washington State" ever before... But I'd flown (albeit fairly low and very unsteadily) here with barely any energy, carrying three humans. The humans were tiny enough I barely noticed their weight, but it had been hairy trying to keep the air currents from affecting them while trying to maintain a steady flight pattern at the same time. I was just happy the Autobots hadn't been around to cause me trouble.

If they were even still around... as I knew Optimus Prime was deactivated, and the War was over... I had no idea if the Autobots were still lingering, trying to shoot down any errant Decepticons. I honestly didn't even know why I was still on this rock. Was there reason for me to still be here? Was Megatron ordering we stay here?

No, he would have destroyed this planet before even considering the idea. He hated biological life, that much he'd made clear, and loved destroying organic life whenever he came across it. Did that mean Mighty Megatron had fallen as well? Perhaps he and Prime finally killed each other in battle as we'd all taken bets on. Looks like I owed Barricade and Thundercracker a few credits...

"Star?" the human asked again, and I kept a growl of anger from escaping me. That human had no right to call me that name! Only one person was allowed to call me that... and he was long gone. If he had to shorten my name, why couldn't he use the traditional "Screamer" nickname I loathed? It would give me more reason to hate him. The use of "Star" put me at ease, and I hated it!

"What human," I grumbled, barely keeping my emotional outburst to myself. Why was I trying again? I should just squish them all... Nick flinched at my tone, and looked almost hurt. Well, serves him right.

"Are you alright? What happened out there? I just remember you flying really high, but everyone says you brought me back... you dropped me off and went right back out. You separated from formation after that and the Canadians somehow shot you down... How'd they manage to do that!?" Were I in mech form, I would have taken a step back in surprise at the outburst, even if it shamed me to admit it.

I had allowed this human to fly with me? Surely he was lying... I have never (to my knowledge) allowed any human access into the cockpit, even while I hid amongst their jet fighters. Why would I allow him to fly with me? And I was shot down, I knew that much... But how...? The tech I remember seeing from the lab I'd been held in was far more advanced than it should have been. The scientists had had access to Cybertronian knowledge, and that made me suspicious that the Autobots had lent the knowledge...

But they'd been stationed in the US... Surely the US wouldn't share the schematics and knowledge we'd given them with the other countries of the world... It went against political paranoia all cultures held. Never give someone, even if they are your most trusted ally, anything that could possibly help them should things go sour. I highly doubted the Autobots would have given the information to any other countries... and the Decepticons were smart enough to not delve any information period.

Had... Had the humans captured a Cybertronian for study? As they'd done with Megatron? I knew the humans had studied and reverse engineered their technology from him. Was it possible they had another in their captivity? It seemed likely. That was probably how they had known how to shoot me down. They'd tested this other Autobot/Decepticon, and learned our weak points.

Which explained why they used that liquid ice on me to subdue me in the lab like they knew it would bring me down.

I realized Nick was staring at me, still wanting an answer. I had thought all of this in around 30 seconds, but I hadn't thought of how to respond. I was tempted to stay silent, but something was urging me to put his fears (whatever they apparently were) to rest. I found myself wanting to tell him everything, which I was unable to do, as I simply couldn't remember any of it, and it was running my processors into the ground. And I didn't even know why I wanted to tell him in the first place!

Primus, how'd I get in this mess? "I'm fine human," I opted. Perhaps if I said nothing he'd get the hint and leave me alone. That wasn't the case as he narrowed his eyes at me, obviously suspicious.

"Why do you keep calling me human? You don't call me that, and you only call Tops that when he's pissed you off somehow. I'm fairly sure I didn't do anything to warrant the attitude, so what's going on?" his said it fairly loud, stopping the workers on my wings and the one in my cabin. Well, now... this was new. How do I get out of this one?

"It's nothing you should worry about," I said, unable to take the gruffness from my tone. Just when did my voice sound so bad? It's always been a fairly uncomfortable pitch, but now it was just plain out ear piercing, even when I kept it fairly low key. Nick fixed a glare on me and I tried my best to keep the flinch at bay. Why was I so afraid of a human? Especially this really skinny, young adult, human?

"Right, cause my best friend is totally acting normal right now... Tell me the truth, damn it!" he practically exploded right then and there, and I couldn't help inching back on my wheels. "You've been abrasive and spiteful since Tops and Bates found and freed you! What's wrong with you?"

I hummed, uncomfortable. This was deffinately not a conversation I'd ever expected to endure from one of the squishies on this planet... And where'd the "best friend" comment come from? Surely I misheard that comment... No possible way was I a "best friend", as I hardly had a concept of what that was. "Calm down," I said in response. It was automatic. "I'm acting within normal perimeters."

"Oh yeah, maybe if you were a Decepticon... You're not anymore. You quite that, you remember? Your war ended thousands of years ago! You stopped acting like an aft somewhere along the way, and now you seem to have forgotten it all. What is wrong with you Star?" the emotions that played on his face were enough for me to listen to his entire rant with apt attention. The War had ended, I knew that... but thousands of years ago? Primus alive, that was impossible! If that were the case, why was I still here?

"Leave me be human," I groused, "I'm perfectly fine. Go play with the Autobots. They'll take your temper better than I am currently able." I don't know why I said it. After the comment he made of my not being a Decepticon, I don't know why I expected my comment to make any sense... but I saw tears come to his eyes, and I felt immobile. What had I said? Did I offend him?

"What the slag has gotten into you??" he roared and I jerked, causing one of the men on my right wing to fall off in a rather interesting heap. "Bumblebee is gone you asshole! There are no "Autobots" left!" He said it, using his fingers as quotations around the word. His skin color had paled dramatically, and he didn't stop the tears from overflowing his eyes.

I froze at his comment. Surely he didn't mean... The Autobots had left the planet then... it had to be that. Surely they weren't all gone... like Prime... and Bumblebee. "What do you mean?" I squeaked, not sure I wanted to know the information I suddenly felt the need to know.

Nick blinked at me, mouth open. "What do you mean, "What do you mean?" ? You know perfectly well what I mean... right?" he sounded unbelievably nervous and uncertain. At my silence, he groaned, be it from his saddened state or the fact he realized I truly didn't know what the slag he was talking about, I had no idea. "Starscream... What do you..."

I winced as one of the mechanics pulled a sensitive wire at that moment. "Do you mind not pulling that wire so hard? It connects my sensor arrays in my wings and is very fragile." My tone was rather subdued, and I fought the urge to "clear my throat" as the humans say. The mechanic nodded in response.

"Star... do you not remember? Are you a Decepticon?" he sounded accusing suddenly and I wondered if I should answer the question.

"I will always be a Decepticon human, even if this war is over, I shall always be one," I said carefully, watching his reaction. He was dismayed and unhappy. "But, no. To answer your question, it would appear my memory has been damaged. I remember no chronological order in events, and it would appear certain files have been damaged to the point of deletion." The human looked absolutely "floored" with the news. I had no idea why I indulged it, but it seemed there was no harm in it...

"Deletion?" he said quietly, staring at me with wide eyes. "You can't remember? You don't even really know who I am do you? Or any of us. You don't even know you're the last of the Cybertronians! Holy shit Star, how'd this happen??"

Back up, last of the Cybertronians? What the slag did that mean? "Explain human. What do you mean, last of the Cybertronians?" If I were in mech form... my optics would be shining brightly and shuttering off and on in mere shock. Surely I wasn't the last... it had to be a mistake...

"You're the last Starscream..." Nick stated, looking down and oddly defeated. "Bumblebee died two weeks ago from old age... It had been just you two... Barricade died years ago, before I was born, but he'd be gone by now anyway. You three were the last of your kind..."

That couldn't be right... The last of our kind? How the slag did that happen? I was far older than both of those mechs... if they died from old age, how was I still functioning without problem? I couldn't possibly be the last... it wasn't right... "You're lying to me human..." I whispered, unable to say it louder. The shake of his head and the tears rolling down his face told me, no, he was telling the truth.

"I've never lied to you Starscream. I promise, if this were a joke, it would be one of the worst in the universe." And I knew, somewhere, he was telling the truth. I knew in my spark I was alone, and that Nick was telling the truth. It didn't make it easier, by a long shot. I didn't exactly know what to do with this knowledge. I had no idea what this meant...

I would continue to live while everyone I'd ever known was dead? I hadn't grown older, if the amount of time it took to age Barricade and Bumblebee had passed... did this mean I'd never die? Was I, dare I say it, immortal? Could Primus truly be so cruel to one of his creations? Had I been bad somehow in his eye? I hadn't done anything worse than any other mechs... sure I tried to assassinate Megatron, but so did many others. Even his own personal lacky Soundwave had once or twice... I hadn't really done anything else that was terrible...

Except leave Skyfire on that planet. But I hadn't been able to find him in time, and I had never been permitted to go back! How was that my fault? Surely it wasn't enough to torture me like this...

"Star? Dumb question, but, are you ok?" I focused on the human before me. All of the others had jumped down to the tarmac, though I hadn't realized it, and they were all staring at me in concern. I shifted out of my alt form carefully, making sure I didn't rub still pained circuits the wrong way or cause frame further damage.

"No, I don't suppose I am," I said quietly, "blinking" at the congregation below. "If what you say is true, I don't suppose I ever will be." I watched him tilt his head in depression. "Nick, don't be sad. Its strange to comprehend this information, but you needn't take it out on yourself..." It was not something I was used too, but I believe I was concerned at the expression on his face. It looked like a seeker sparkling who'd just been told they weren't allowed to fly.

"I'm sorry Star... I don't know what to say... You haven't really talked about any of this since Bee died, and I dunno... I hadn't really thought of what it truly meant for you... I'm sorry..." he said quickly, and I picked him up carefully. I marveled at how gentle I was in doing so, as if my body knew how to hold the squishy to keep him from literally squishing in my hand.

"Stop worrying. I told you, I'm fine human," I said quietly, studying him. Skyfire... heh, I'd been so careful to avoid even thinking his name... he would have been severely interested in the humans. They were the type of life we'd been searching for in our little rendezvous to that damned planet. It had been a waste of time, and a senseless waste of the only life I'd ever actually cared for.

"But you're not ok. You just said you probably never would be... and I can't help feeling sad. I feel bad for you, and no, its not pity. I hate pity, you know that... I just... You're situation makes me sad... and I don't know what to do for you!" he wailed in my hand and I twitched my wings.

"Human, stop crying," I commanded. And I was amazed when the tears stopped flowing from his eyes. "There is no reason for this. Now cut it out and act like the warrior you are." I said it awkwardly, not really sure if the human was a warrior or not. But he grinned lightly and I assumed he got some form of humor out of my command. I set him back down and obediently folded back into the F-22 jet form of my alt. mode. I suppose his explanation of events explained why my alt mode was no longer the pique of fashion...

"I gotta go head upstairs..." Nick stated suddenly, touching the underside of my wing. "I'll be back down again later... Be good for these guys, ok? They tell me you're about halfway repaired... When they give you the all clear, if I'm not back, head to the warehouse... uh, it's number 7 on the far side in case you don't remember... and stay there. That's kinda where you live. I'll meet you there."

With those words, the human walked away, a slight slouch in his shoulders and a sad cadence to his step. The humans continued to bang out various dents and dings, and as I felt sensation return to my left wing, I wondered just what I was supposed to do now...


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N : Finally! See? Not dead! You guys were really starting to worry bout this story... I didn't think you guys were following as much as you really were. Thank you, all of you. Your reviews, emails and PMs were just awesome. I don't know when this will be updated again... but here's the next chapter (that is horribly late). The technical jargon in this is literally pulled out of thin air. So if it sounds like it's common knowledge or far fetched, that's cause its 2 AM as I write this and yeah...**_

_**So, I've decided. I'm no good at writing the mean Starscream. I love Screamer though; good, bad or in between. I thought about trying to mean him up in this chapter, but I dunno. It seemed better to do it with the nicer aspect of his "forgotten" personality coming out and having him seem confused. I dunno... not happy with it, but I spent so much time going back and forth, I just picked one in the end, and here it is. Short, and full of filler... but it's there for a reason.**_

_**Also, I just want to point something out from the movie (2007). My friend and I were discussing the part where Starscream makes his entrance in Mission City. Yes, he blew off Bumblebee's legs, but I'd like to say that Bumblebee was also subject to the whims of Sector 7 for a while. That said, how the Hell is Megatron so damn strong?? After centuries being frozen, and being tested on like a lab rat, Megatron shouldn't have been able to stand up to the various attacks from Optimus. And yet he still kicked major aft? It's official. Megatron is number one (just don't tell Screamer... I don't think he'd like that much).**_

I jolted out of recharge, sending Nick almost careening off of my right wing. I hadn't noticed he was even there, and for a moment, I thought that was the reason I'd awoken so quickly. I realized after however, that I was receiving a very faint signal. I gawked at it, wondering why I was getting a signal from a Cybertronian in distress when I was supposedly the last of my entire race. Were there any Cybertronians in the area, I would have (presumably) picked up on their presence much sooner than this.

Nevertheless, I was receiving a distress call. I barely registered Nick's inquiry of what was wrong before I started moving toward the warehouse doors. I honestly don't even remember arriving at the warehouse. I must have fallen into recharge out on the tarmac... Slaggin humans must have brought me here.

I didn't know if I should feel disgusted or grateful.

"Star! Where are you going?" Nick asked loudly, moving in my path. I growled slightly, transforming and glaring down at him. He backed up slightly, but still held his ground. Admirable.

"Out of the way human," I stated simply. Nick returned my command with an incredulous glance. "Out of the way or I'll squish you."

"Right. Like you've never threatened that one before. Where are you going?" Nick laughed. I tilted my head, examining him. "What?" he asked, "I have to know what I need to say to the general."

It was a cover, I knew that much. The human must think me stupid if he thought I'd believe his intentions. "I'm checking something. Move." Nick merely stayed where he was. I shifted, lifting one of my pedes above his head in a threatening manner. He faked a yawn in response. Humans were so aggravating! Did Nick not know self-preservation tactics? You run when you were about to be squished!

"Take me with you then," he said, sounding rather bored. I stared at him. "Take me with you. I can help. You can't go alone. General's orders, considering you've just been released from Canada and all. And you have a bit of an insubordination charge from the last time you went out alone... Granted, Bee had also just passed... but still. You know,"

And so it became known to me that Nick was a chatter-box. He talked like the Autobot sniper, Bluestreak: in circles and about nothing. I stopped listening to the words he spoke, instead just listening to the tone. Should I take the human with me? It was a strange concept to me. As far as my memory was concerned, I'd never allowed a human close to the internal cabin. But then, I knew Nick... sort of. I tolerated him in the past, per-say... I really needed to check that signal out... it was fading, and fast...

"Starscream, are you even listening to me?"

"Not in the slightest," I quipped, tilting my head again. The human pouted in response. "Now shut up. You can tell your leader I'm leaving for a while. As to when I'll return, that's... classified." That would probably cause a stir amongst them for a while. Oh well.

That said, I stepped over the human, taking care to step over him without clipping his head. My apparent conscience wouldn't allow me to actually kill him. Pitty. Squishing flesh beings used to be a highlight of the Decepticon's free time. Maybe I'd be able to overcome that subconscious block during my flight plan. Would make things easier should I encounter any other humans.

I could hear Nick shouting at me to take him with me as I casually walked out of the warehouse. Military personnel were watching me with wide eyes as I moved to a safe spot to take off. I didn't want my thrusters to damage any of the buildings around after all.

The signal was fading. I had a limited amount of time to find where it was coming from. Better start right away right? I jumped, shifting into my alt mode and taking for the skies without any effort. My radio buzzed at me and the voice sounded angry... something about not using the runways... oh well. Not my concern.

Triangulating my trajectory using the World Wide Web, I fought to keep a low groan from escaping. I was headed back to Canada it seemed. Closer than where the humans and I had been held, but still Canada. And here I had hoped to never need to return. Slag it all to the pit.

Soundwave had shown me a trick back when the war had just been starting. I had passed it on to the other Seekers when I had become the Air Commander. The trick was to basically erase yourself from the radars of your enemy. Fairly easy, but still widely unknown to members of the Decepticons at the time. I'm not sure the Autobots ever picked it up. But at least, using this trick, I'd avoid detection by any enemy fleets waiting on the other side of the border.

It worked like a mirror of sorts. Radars, especially human ones, are a series of pings that continuously move outward. If there is something, like myself, in the area, pings are sent back to the system that said "Hey, there's something there". If it was an enemy, it was unmarked in the system. If it was friendly, it was marked and returned to the system with some sort of identification/recognition ping. Trick is, to either A; mimic the friendly ping, or B; make it so the radar waves continue as if there's nothing there. To my knowledge, the humans were still fairly in-advanced in their systems, making it slightly easier.

Problem is actually detecting the signals without being detected yourself. In order to do either of those, you have to know the system you're trying to fool. You have to feel one or two pings before you can do any of the requirements needed for either option. Doesn't really help that, as Cybertronians, our own systems send out our own pings to the area. Pings that distort radars (Cybertronian or human) like a jammer. Quieting our radars is dangerous and leaves us blind. But, in order to continue, going in blind is the way we've won battles.

Quieting our radars is the first step. Then you gotta pick which one of the choices you're going to do. In this case, as I don't know much of the Canadians or their standard operations, mimicry is a fairly bad idea. So, we continue through as if we are truly not there. After all, whose going to say I'm there? So long as I keep out of populated areas, No one would be the wiser.

That decided, the moment I felt the questioning ping of the Canadian radars, not far from Blaine, Washington, I banked. Running parallel to the radar ping, I began to quiet my systems. Becoming invisible is a matter of forming a catalyst between yourself and the open air around you. Keep your systems just loud enough to pass the pings _through_ you, but not enough to send them back to base.

Soundwave could explain it better. Either way, it typically works. Only downside is how time consuming and utterly draining the process is.

The Cybertronian signal was another problem. It didn't come through radar, but it was a signal that put my systems louder than what was necessary for pulling this off. And thus a juggling act begins. Fly in the general direction you were just flying in, and occasionally feel for the signal still being there before flying blind some more. All while keeping an eye on your surroundings, just in case the local militia just happens to be doing flybys, or a cliff side suddenly comes in front of you.

Primus himself knows how many fancy maneuvers I've had to pull to avoid a random part of scenery that I should have noticed before and somehow didn't...

Typically I just blamed Skywarp.

Thinking of Skywarp sent a pang through my spark. I'd left my trine on Cybertron when I'd assembled warriors to find the All Spark. To my memory, I'd never seen them again afterward. If I was truly the last of the Cybertronians...

No, there was another out there. Here, in this country. There were others. This one was in distress. There was no other reason for the fluctuating signal strength. I had to wonder who it was. Autobot? Decepticon? Perhaps I was racing to this country to free Megatron himself. If that was the case...

Would I still rescue him? If he's the only other Cybertronian on the planet? Slag, in the galaxy? Tough question I would need to figure out soon... If it were Megatron, what would he do afterward?

Well that was a dumb question. He'd probably attack the humans for holding him captive. Again. And then, probably attack me for not getting him out sooner. Slagger. Would be just like him. No respect, or thank yous. Just an immediate shot to the wing. If he was feeling particularly nasty, he'd probably try to rip one off.

It was... a shame really, that the war went the way it did. Megatron and myself had once been on ok terms. We were almost close enough to be considered "friends" by Autobot standards. But Megatron became to engrossed in the war. The power rush getting to his processors. As our race began to thin out from many stellar cycles of fighting and depleted resources, I began my attempt at counteracting his reign. I fell into bad graces with him, though I never lost my position, and he had enough respect for me to treat me on the same level as him.

Huh, seemed my memory was beginning to recuperate. It was still fairly... what was the term humans used? FUBAR. But at least I was getting a sense of time in the disjointed-ness my memory cortex had become.

The signal hit me hard when I rechecked it and my current heading. I jolted in the air, trying to keep my systems from sending an automatic response. The signal was back up, full blast again it seemed. Silly of me to think I would have been unaffected should it rise again, as I'd felt it in the next country... But I hadn't really thought this Cybertronian would broadcast so loudly. They were in trouble, and running out of hope it seemed. How long had they been there?

My speed increased. I have held the title for being the fastest Seeker on Cybertron, during and before the war. My speed had helped get me through missions alive and in one piece. When the mission called for near impossible odds, I was typically the one to get sent, even when I had become Air Commander and later, Second in Command. When you wanted something done right, you do it yourself after all.

If I could reach this Cybertronian, I could lend a helping servo. Not something I'm typically known for, but I'm not sparkless. I give aide when needed... even if the mech in question _is_ Megatron... or some Autobot. With the frantic-ness of the signal, I felt more than willing to blast whatever the problem was to the next star.

I nearly tumbled out of the sky when I rechecked the signal moments later. There was nothing there. Only the constant ping of radars. The signal had silenced. Maintaining my trajectory, I ran possible scenarios. Judging from the strength, it was still fairly far out there. From the look of it, it was being placed somewhere in the Arctic Circle. Whether it was still in this country or out in the middle of the ocean was unknown. My current location was just past the Coast Mountains near one of the rivers. It would take me an hour and a half to get to the other side of the country at top speed.

I continued forward.

Only to encounter a patrol group. The local militia just had to be doing practice runs... I banked as hard as I could, pulling a tight U-turn before the jets could spot me visually. As luck would have it, they saw me just as I thought I was out of range. Slaggers...

_**"Unidentified aircraft, identify yourself."**_ The voice was light and unsuspicious, as if he'd said this before at some point earlier today. Perhaps if I played it off...? Hmm, but they'd surely be suspicious if they noticed my "invisibility"... and if it just showed up, they'd be even more suspicious. Interesting little situation. Time to take my leave folks... I don't take kindly to Sabot rounds.

They leave nasty dents in my armor and I have a reputation to hold up.

_**"Ident or we will fire on you."**_The speaker still sounded aloof. He wasn't taking this exercise very clearly. His loss, my gain. Throwing on the afterburners, I was out of range before he and his squad could even think to try and catch up. And before I was even aware, I was back in familiar territory.

My weapons on lined immediately however, when I realized there was a squadron of the newer modeled jets waiting for me. They flanked me and boxed me in, leading me back toward the base. Well, wasn't this pleasant?

_**Chpt Notes : . is the link I am using for Canada's layout. Not the best, but I'm not trying to be precise.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N : Hey look! Another update! And, it's not Starscream's POV once more (even though I know I promised it would be the duration...). A spur of the moment decision, I assure you. It jumps back and forth between Alexis and Starscream... This is mostly a filler... and once the next chapter is posted, I feel I may have to run away for a while... You all will not be very happy with me, that I can tell already.**_

The claxons were really starting to annoy me.

The claxons in Canada weren't much better, but it was still enough to pierce anyone's ears and make them cringe in distaste. And the fact there were three of them in the very small room I currently relaxed in, made it all the worse.

With a sigh, I stood and followed the stampede of personnel through the hall, nodding at Bates as we took a fast paced stride side by side. "What's going on?" I had to yell to be heard over the alarm. Bates shrugged in response, and I jumped at hearing another voice on my other side.

"Could be a fire alarm. Wouldn't be the first time we've had one here. The cooks are a bit... outlandish with their cooking. And if I remember, they sound an awful lot like these alarms," Tops said with a shrug. He hadn't exactly approached in silence, as it was hard to tell with all the noise, but his surprise entrance made me glare at him.

"Fire alarm?" I asked, incredulous. "Are we all migrating outside then like school children?"

Another shrug, "Yup. With out any instruction over the PA, it makes the most sense. We don't want to be blown up after all, right?"

Right. That made sense... mostly.

So, we all shuffled outside the building, moving to stand as far away as was humanly possible. Everyone around us was complaining and making jokes, and if this truly was a fire alarm, the kitchen staff had better watch their backs. The entire base was in an uproar.

After a few minutes, we noticed a company stationed near the jets, decked out and ready for combat. Their company commander was gawking at our congregation, almost as if he couldn't hear the incessant honking of the alarms. He continued getting his men ready for whatever they were doing however, shouting and waving his arms. "Tops? Why are they combat ready?"

The jokester had an expression of what could be best described as horror-filled understanding, and I felt a cold sensation in my stomach. "That's what those mean... Fuck. We're expecting enemy incoming!"

"And you didn't know this why!?" I exclaimed, foresaking the mass formation we'd all taken up along the fence line. Bates was matching pace with me, and Tops had broken into a slightly faster trot, seemingly waving at the others now behind us, and the stampede of personnel was racing for the building once more.

"We all never had enemy incoming to this base before!" a southern accented voice said from right behind me, and a quick glance revealed it to be Bubbles. Not for the first time I had to wonder about the call signs these people took. Bubbles seemed far from worried however. In fact, the cow boy looked almost entertained... giddy. He was itching for a fight it seemed, and the enemy was coming to him.

"There's a squad of D-10s missing from the hanger," Bates said thoughtfully as we made our way back inside. "Why wasn't our unit called forward?"

"Where's Burnout for that matter?" Tops asked, wrestling with a door that lead to the underground bunkers. Bates gave him a strange look over my head.

"Aren't you two joined at the hip? If you don't know, what makes you think we do?"

"It's called a rhetorical question buddy," Tops snarked, trying to keep the other personnel from knocking him over and trampling him. "And you know, you guys could _help_ me open the door instead of squishing me!"

Bubbles grabbed the man by the back of his shirt, pulling him out of the swarm and away from the door. "Let them take care of that one. Lets get ready in case the defense can't handle the attack. We'll probably find Burnout where the action is anyway."

The three pilots slipped back out the door we'd all come in through. I followed, curious and a bit lost as to what to do. I was a scientist. I don't do combat, but doing something sounded much more appealing than hanging out in a bunker with a bunch of idiotic base workers. We scurried across the tarmac like field mice, and they immediately began changing into pilot fatigues. Right... in... front... of... me... I turned away, and I knew I was blushing fiercely. We had somehow entered a locker room, and I guessed it was made specifically for pilots.

As they changed, I wandered. The room was made for men and women both, meaning they hadn't thought anything of my presence. They were used to girls seeing them dress, and they were used to seeing girls dress. How... fitting. I was leafing through a rack of uniforms before I even realized what they were, and I was taking off various layers of my scientific wardrobe not a moment after I took one down.

What was I thinking?? I'm no pilot! I don't know how to fly! Why was I slipping into the pilot's uniform with out so much as blinking?? I didn't even feel afraid. It seemed the most natural thing to do, and the three pilots I had the best acquaintance with didn't seem to be bothered by my actions. They pulled their boots on as I finished clipping the belt. They even waited for me to put my boots on, and only then did they act a bit confused. It was as if they hadn't known I'd followed them. Which they probably hadn't.

When we exited, the combat ready company had taken up arms, aiming at the sky. The sound of jet engines had filled the air, and, looking far out at the mountains to the North, there was a stretch of man-made silver across the horizon. "The squad of D-10s is back," Bates said off handedly. I looked over at the jets that were scattered over the tarmac. Only 7 had personnel working in them, running the pre-checks. The others were... open game.

I still don't know what I'm thinking. I'm no pilot. I don't even know how to start a jet up. How was I planning to be any sort of help? I don't belong out here in the battle field... and yet, I still feel no fear. No butterflies flying rampantly in my stomach... nothing but calm as I followed the boys to the fighters I assumed were designated for them.

"_Starscream, you're in a lot of trouble,"_ Nick's voice called to me, and I assumed he was in the leading jet. I resisted making a human-like snort over the comms. _"The General is frothing at the mouth, and he wants you locked up for the disregard of his orders... But we have bigger problems, your excursion's angered the Canadians and they're armed and ready for a fire -fight."_

"_That hardly seems my fault," _I stated haughtily. I had taken the utmost care in not being caught out... only on the return was I noticed. _"The Canadians took no notice of my entry and presence. If they are attacking, it stands to reason it was due to something else that happened."_

"_They're claiming a UFO entered their airspace, which it damn well did!"_ Nick shouted and I could almost visual the frustration upon his squishy face. _"You went in there with no prior say so from either side! Star, we're at war and you just made things even worse!"_

"_Negative, I haven't done anything that is not my right to do,"_ I said, ignoring a tiny reminder in the back of my processor telling me I was starting to sound like Soundwave. That was a creepy thought... my tone was even as blank and unfeeling as Megatron's 3IC... I made a reminder to defrag as soon as convenient so as to not continue this development.

"_I understand that..."_ and from the tone in his voice, the boy sounded torn. _"But you made everything extremely complicated with this stint... Couldn't you have gone through the proper channels? What were you even doing?"_

"_Burnout! Incoming!"_ one of the other jet pilots informed and they all took to a different formation. The jet that had been in front of me, which I assumed was Nick, barrel rolled so they were at my left wing and slightly behind. The jet from behind my thrusters raced over to my right wing and slightly behind as well and the other jets fell into formations behind them.

In fact, it almost looked as if the humans had copied the formation from the Seekers, as they were grouped in threes... like trines... I ignored the pang in my spark at the thought of Thundercracker and Skywarp as I instinctively took up the role of commander. _"How many fighters?"_

"_At least 3 squads, heading straight for the base," _the pilot said, voice almost cracking. Three squads... the term meant nothing to me.

"_ETA?"_ Nick asked, and the jet on my wing seemed to wobble slightly.

"_They'll reach the base in ten minutes," _and we were fifteen human minutes out at current airspeed.

"_Then let's speed up and intercept,"_ I suggested, pushing my speed up slightly to see if the other jets could follow. They did and I was slightly impressed. I continued to speed up, almost as if racing the other jets to see who would get to our destination first. I knew it was no competition... I was faster, no matter how advanced the human's became, but it was amusing nonetheless.

There were fourteen US jets in the air when we arrived, and I counted thirty Canadian jets on approach. _"See, I told you we'd find Burnout where the action is,"_ one of the pilots stated with a smug tone.

"_Fall into a quick formation behind Starscream guys," _Nick commanded and I could almost feel the confusion from the other humans. _"Groups of threes. We'll take Seeker formation and-"_ Nick was cut off as our wings were suddenly scoured with sabot fire. I swooped in a haphazard arc as I tried to recover from the sudden shock and pain in my wings. The enemy had arrived under radar. I felt my wing mates move back into formation a moment after I re-stabilized and I shifted to advance on the enemy.

"_How well do you know Seeker formations?"_ I asked warily. It was a bit disconcerting that they knew anything at all, but somehow not surprising. They were quite the inquisitive race, and I wouldn't put it past Nick to annoy the slag out of me to get the information he wanted.

"_Well enough to go by your command," _Nick replied curtly. _"Basic commands anyway... I don't have the eye to catch the really subtle ones... and Casey, on your right, knows slightly less then me, but everyone's on the same par really."_

My wings twitched experimentally and both pilots moved up to match my pace and I felt a strange pride. They weren't my trine mates, but they were as good as it was going to get in this situation.

In the end, I ended up grabbing a lazor rifle, and hunkered down somewhat close to the ground team. Not the best idea because as soon as our D-10s came into view, the firefight began, and they were shooting in every which way. Several ground team members were hit with shrapnel and I could hear the screams and moans.

While normally I would panic, or at the very least run to find cover, that eerie calm hadn't left me, and I held my ground, firing my weapon at the jets over head. It was hard to distinguish between good and bad guys, so my shots were limited... and I wasn't much of a warrior type, so I could barely fire accurately... I was probably more of a danger than an asset...

The fact I was firing on my own country's men and women crossed my mind... They were following orders... and I had betrayed them without so much as a blink. I had turned on them and got the prisoners and the giant robot out of my own country, which only wanted what was best for their people...

It stung. I grew up with as much love as I could harbor for my country... and I turned on it without as much as a second glance. What kind of person am I?

I didn't have time to think further as I caught sight of a jet, different make than the D-10s and Canadian fighters, swoop down in my direction. My breath caught and I felt the first tinge of fear, glancing around to find some sort of cover. The speed and angle the jet was downing at signified the pilot must have lost control and was in the midst of crashing. Two D-10s, who had been beside the jet before, curved upward in unison, obviously realizing it wasn't safe to continue following the other.

It was just above the base building when it started doing something strange. I was transfixed, watching as the metal coverings of the jet stood on end and began moving around each other. I could only blink. The robot I'd helped to escape suddenly landed beside me, aiming a giant rifle looking thing upward at the mesh of fighters. It mumbled something, unintelligible to me as it sounded like hissing and electrical hums... then fired a shot. It was much smaller than I thought it'd be; a thin lazor that cut through the sky in rapid succession.

Even more surprising was the shots actually hit the targets they aimed for. Three of the Canadian fighters went into free-fall, and their pilots were forced to eject. A fairly dangerous thing to do with the shots being fired all around them...

The red gaze suddenly focused on me and I squeaked in alarm. Without even seeing him move (which was a bit strange considering he was enormous), I suddenly found myself in his grasp. It took only a moment to realize I'd closed my eyes, and when I reopened them, I found that he was gliding a ways away from where I had holed up before.

"Foolish of you to join a fight when you don't know what you're doing," the mechanical voice stated, harshly I might add. He wasn't pleased. I stayed silent, not wanting him to accidentally drop me. He jerked suddenly and I gasped in fear. The calm I'd felt earlier seemed completely gone at this point and I wanted to go crawl into a dark corner and stay there for eternity.

His wing was covered in burn marks and bullet holes, and it quivered slightly, even as we flew. I shifted slightly, and when he didn't stop me, I moved to crawl up his arm. The red gaze followed me as I went and though I was unnerved (just as I had been during the flight to this base), I continued moving to get a better look. I was a scientist, but I felt the need to check and make sure he was ok just as if I were a doctor... or perhaps an engineer.

"How'd you do that?" I heard myself ask. The transformation thing was still on my mind. "How did you change from a jet to a robot? It's not feasibly possible for a robot of your size to change into a small jet..." the scientific aspect was driving me nuts, though I was trying to keep it out of my mind as best as possible... this situation seemingly opened my mouth without my mind's permission.

"A series of complicated explanations that would be best to wait until later, human," the robot suggested, and I was beginning to realize the harsh bite in his words must have been a natural occurrence for him. "Hang on tight unless you want to fall off." I grabbed the silver plating as best as I could and I felt a feather light touch on my back, prompting me to look behind me. He had brought a hand up to protect me as well and I couldn't help but smile slightly.

We were flying through the air, and I knew we were several meters off the ground the moment I felt the cold chill and slight air pressure, but the silver plating remained warm, as if the robot was basking in the sun, so I curled in close, trying to keep the chill at bay. I could hear the powerful engines as they flew by, the shots from gun barrels... the sounds of screams and orders of the people down below... But despite the fact that if I raised my head to see all of it right there, me in the center of it, I could almost imagine it being nothing more than a dream or hallucination... that I was laying on the hood of my Firewall 290 and not on the arm of an alien.

I screamed. Suddenly there was no warmth. No solid surface beneath me. I felt gravity pulling me toward the ground, and my hear pounding. This was it. I couldn't survive a fall of that magnitude...

"Oomph!" undignified sounding as it was, I was surprised I was able to make it. I was also surprised at the lack of pain that never followed. I peaked through an eye, spotting mechanical equipment I'd never seen before (though it looked centuries out dated) and a strange symbol on the console dash board. Sharp and angled, it looked like a face of sorts... perhaps a face similar to the robots? Of it's race? I had no idea, but I found my hand reaching to touch it, and in response, the confines around me shuddered.

"Be careful of what you touch squishy," the voice seemed to come from everywhere and I froze as I realized what exactly was going on. I was _inside_ the thing! "Sit back in the seat, I'll be reaching speeds even trained pilots can barely handle, femme. I will accommodate you as best as I can, but you may fall unconscious despite my best efforts."

That was a scary thought.

It was then I realized we were flying away from the battle-zone.

_**S/N : Was that easy to follow? I have been writing this over the course of a month (due to various writer's blocks and life events...) so I'm not sure if everything makes much sense. I'm sorry the chapters have been so short too... Though I suppose they've all been about this length. Side note, I'm no good at metric conversions. I was going to give approximate distances, and then I remember Alexis is Canadian, not American, and would use the metric system instead of standard (to me) feet or inches. And since I couldn't remember how to convert the two, and I couldn't find a converter online, I just took those out.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N : I must say, I love confrontation (and changing POVs apparently). I can't write for beans, but it's fun to play the scenarios through my head and just laugh evily. I'm going to hide for a while, cause I know some people are going to be mad at me. Kudos to those who foresaw what the signal was, and to those who may or may not like the idea, read on. This isn't a very happy chapter.**_

The signal was back, taking the majority of my attention off of the battle around me and the tiny human on my arm. I stared in the direction I felt it coming from, and I made a decision once more. I fired three more shots from my Null Rays, downing more of the enemy and equaling the fight between our forces, then I lightly tossed the human on my arm, high enough she wouldn't fall before she was supposed too, and as she was suspended in the air, I shifted to my F-22 alt. mode.

The tiny thing landed in the seat as softly as I could manage, but she still let out a strange sound upon impact. As soon as she landed, I closed the canopy and shot forward, igniting my afterburners. The signal was getting closer, and I felt eager to see another Cybertronian. Autobot Neutral or Decepticon, it didn't matter at this point. Nick's claim was haunting my processor. I needed to see another and know... know that he lied to me... so I can squish him.

There was still distress in the signal, despite it's apparent flight (and it was flying... It was moving to fast to be a ground-pounder) across the Canadian country.

"Where are you going?? You're just abandoning them!" the femme shouted, obviously realizing we were leaving the battle. "They need you and you're just leaving?? What are you thinking??"

"I have evened the playing field human," I said, feeling her shift in the seat. "They are able to hold their own in their own... turf. I have something I must check. My own personal mission I suppose you could label it. You unfortunately, must come along for the ride as I was unable to set you down without killing you or exposing you to more danger. Feel fortunate squishy, that I am in the mindset to keep you alive and not simply eject you."

That got her to close her mouth and she was staring at the console in front of her in horror. A dual twinge of pride and... guilt filled me at seeing it and I barrel rolled to get my mind off of it, hearing her scream in fear.

The scenery meshed as I flew and I knew the human soon fell unconscious. I thought about setting her down, as it's dangerous to humans to pass out in flight, but I felt I didn't have the time, and she wasn't as... important... to me as Nick was. So I kept my pace.

I flew low to the ground, as my intended target was low to the ground as well according to my sensors, but I grumbled about the trees and various land formations. Dodging a random cliff or tree was much harder than it seems.

The flight passed much quicker than I anticipated. I had to pull a hard corkscrew to avoid being T-Boned mid air by a very large, white craft. There were other jets as well, flying in formation and I couldn't tell if they were flying after the craft or if they were maintaining formation _around_ it.

But the moment the craft registered in my processor, I felt my spark freeze. It was definitely Cybertronian, a form I couldn't forget if I deleted my entire memory cortex. How he was alive, much less flying in front of me, baffled me. Last I'd seen him, he'd gone down on some planet covered in ice. Had he been found? Had they sent a search party after all? Why hadn't I been informed...?

Or had I?

This memory issue of mine was really starting to aggravate me.

"Skyfire?" I asked in Cybertronian on the comm link we had once shared. It was active, for the first time in what felt like vorns... "Skyfire, is that you?" The giant shuttle type flier banked and... nearly rammed me again. I pulled up with a twist, feeling a rush of air as he flew just under the tips of my left wing. He looked just as he always had... as if he hadn't changed at all. I knew I looked different... my own white and red color scheme having been replaced by dull silver long ago on Cybertron... a bad incident had made it necessary to change my primary colors...

Perhaps he didn't recognize me then?

"Skyfire, this is Starscream," I bit out, dodging his tackle like move once more. "I felt your distress signal... why are you attacking me?" He spun as I swooped below him and I let out a hiss as his wing connected with the glass of my canopy, leaving a visible scratch across it. It stung. But I forced myself to spin upward, barely remembering to keep the cabin pressurized (I didn't want the human to... leave a mess) as I did so. Skyfire followed me, and I was reminded of those little scuffles we had on our journey.

We would get annoyed with each other, and because I have that temper of "must throw things", some of the time the two of us would grapple. I never used my Null Ray on him, though I often wished too... and as he never had weapons of his own, he, fairly playfully (as if he were humoring me) would tumble and scrape at me with his wings... tackle me or just grab me and hold me still. Being as large as he is in mech form, it wasn't very hard for him to hold me still...

But this seemed different. There was more of an edge to his assault, and it almost frightened me. He was truly angry... But there was more. His movements were jerky and clumsy. Almost like he wasn't truly the one piloting. And in that moment, I scanned him.

His spark was barely resonating. That fact nearly made me tumble from the sky. My friend was barely alive, and the human heart I felt among his plating was forcing him to fly. A dangerous thing to do... The energy needed to stay airborne was immense, much more than most would think, and if Skyfire was injured, his spark could become unstable.

Problem was, how was I going to get the squishy thing out of my friend without harming him or ejecting my passenger? Another problem I hadn't truly focused on... There were enemy fighters surrounding us... each keeping their distance, but they were circling us, keeping us boxed in together. They were forcing a confrontation.

"**Land your fighter**" was all I heard over the comms. I twirled cautiously, observing Skyfire a bit longer, trying to make it register that he was even alive much less in front of me needing help... he didn't respond to me at all. I had to wonder if he was even conscious. "**Land now or we will fire on you.**"

"I dare you human," I bit back. I knew it was a bad idea to antagonize, but my personality wouldn't allow anything else. I didn't take well to being threatened, and this whole situation was making my processor swirl in anger, relief and disbelief.

All at once, the thirty jets flew toward me. I barely spared them a second thought as I pulled a U-Turn and rocketed out of there. The human piloting Skyfire was tailing me, but my speed was far greater than his, and when I got to be of able distance, I banked again and fired my Null Ray.

The shot hit true and Skyfire began to fall like a rock. He was fairly close to the ground, so I wasn't _too_ worried about his fate. Even as weakened as he was he'd be able to survive the crash, so I moved my attention to the other fighters. I disengaged my Null Rays (which are positioned on top of my wings) and brought my fusion cannon (located on my underside) online.

I could almost feel the enemy's confusion at my decision to shoot Skyfire. Perhaps they had learned we were friends from Skyfire? I doubt the humans were so informed on our race as to know our language and minds, but... I've underestimated them before.

They circled me once more as I passed over the area Skyfire went down in, making sure I didn't bolt from them. Skyfire stayed exactly where he fell, cementing the idea he wasn't in control of himself, and I scanned for the human within him. It seemed alive and well, as its heart was pounding loud within its chest and I could almost hear the tiny, ragged breaths...

The thing deserved to be punished.

I skimmed under an enemy jet, close enough that my tail fins scraped along the undercarriage, the turbulence causing them too lose control. I twisted around to do the same to another and angled upward to shoot at the others in the area. It was like a signal had shot off. As I turned to the offensive, the squishies began to fire their weapons. I felt ice hit my wing and a warning popped up in my HUD, and I felt a sense of... what did humans call it? De je vous. It hit me like a tidal wave when my other wing iced up seemingly of its own accord and I began to haphazardly glide through the air, attempting to fire at them.

I realized a bit late that this was how they had brought me down the first time. And the warning was telling me I needed a medic or more damage would be done to my memory cortex. I cursed in my native language. The humans knew how to bring me down, but I had been too confident to realize my past mistake would be re-made.

How... utterly careless of me.

I popped the canopy open and ejected the tiny femme from my form before I made a split second decision to change to mech form to keep her from damaging too severely. I caught her quick enough, but I ended up over rotating and landed on my back. I hissed, knowing it should hurt... but wings were numb. It was a very odd sensation.

I felt, rather than saw, the enemy (now numbering at about 20) swing around for another fly by. I aimed wildly, sending shots scattering across the sky as I attempted to stand. Ice was making it harder to think and process the world around me, but I kept shooting.

When I finally got my pedes underneath me, I jumped upward, slicing a set of wings as they flew over me. I continued that several times, leaping like a feline for a bird. More jets went down and just when I thought I wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer, I heard the rumbling human engines quiet into nothing. It was about that time I realized my optics weren't functioning and I'd been using radar to pinpoint my enemies. That knowledge forced me to also realize my systems were on the verge of stasis lock.

The ice had affected most of my primary systems, and I could feel the sluggish sensation at last. My last thought was, ironically, about the human and where she'd ended up in all of that slag...

I jolted upward. Everything was blurry, but I could see the outline of someone bending over me. I screamed.

Not the brightest idea I've ever had. My ribs hurt like hell and my head was pounding. "Ow..." I groaned, trying to move my hand to my temple. A hand stopped me however and my eyes snapped open once more to glare at the person in front of me.

"You fell quite a ways. It's not a good idea to move. You may have a spinal injury," the voice was... female. It shocked me more than it should have. She sounded like a first rate bitch too... probably a doctor of some kind. "I have some water and a few provisions, but it's not much. We're going to be "roughing" it until we get rescued."

She had an accent. Australian by the sound of it. I wondered briefly where we were... flying... fire fight... I had been a passenger in the alien robot thing those pilots had called Starscream! I could feel grass under me, and I was looking up into a purple and red sky, meaning it was either morning or sunset...

"You're lucky," she continued, "That thing dropped you, yes, but it dropped you into a pond. I fished you out as quick as I could, but your uniform saved your life. It acted like a life vest. You probably would have drowned had it not had a few air pockets from God knows what... and that thing lured the fight away from you I think."

"Where is he?" my words were so slurred, I wasn't sure if they were intelligible. The outline of the woman shifted slightly and I got the impression she was looking behind her.

" "He" collapsed some time ago. It's about a five minute walk behind me. I haven't seen it move since my guys left us here to fetch reinforcements."

"You're Canadian then?" I asked, thanking the fact my voice seemed clearer this time around.

"In a way. I work for them. I hail from Australia. I was given a test pilot job and I've been flying ever since. This has been one of the stranger test flights I've ever been on for sure. You're American then?" there was no hesitation in her voice as she spoke. I realized my first impression of her was wrong. She seemed rather nice.

"Not... entirely. I'm Canadian..." I said, blinking to clear my vision. She had blonde hair and hazel eyes from what I could see, and her smile was kind.

"Hmm," she intoned, looking off to her left. "My bird isn't very far, and it's going to be dark soon. I'm going to have to move you."

"I'm fine," I stated, moving my arms slightly. "Everything feels normal. I can move myself."

She laughed, "Alright, alright. I was just trying to be cautious. I don't have medical training, and you were out like a light for a few hours. But if you feel fine enough, come on, I'll help you up." And she did. She took my hand and pulled me up with hardly any exertion on her part.

I had to lean on her shoulder as we walked, but we ended up in front of the strangest looking craft I'd seen in a very long time. It was mostly white with a smattering of red trim here and there. The shape was very sharp edged and agile, and it looked about the size of a commercial type passenger plane. It was impressive really.

"Cool huh?" my escort asked with a wink. "I don't know what half of the stuff in here does, but it's pretty fun to fly. Odd control system though... whoever designed it didn't give it an ignition sequence key or anything. You basically have to hot wire it to get it to start up."

"How odd," I commented. I wasn't truly listening to her. I was more interested in the craft itself. The inside wasn't much different than the outside. The white metal gleamed with the slightest light, and was warm to touch... A memory of curling close to the warm metal surface of the robot hit me and I jumped away from the wall with wide eyes. The Australian girl blinked at me in confusion and I scrambled back out of the alien craft.

"What is it?" she asked, coming to the ramp as I sat down on the grass. "What's wrong?"

"You were hotwiring an alien robot!" I shouted. She gave me an odd glance in response. "You don't even know do you? That thing is alive!"

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought..." I heard her mumble and I growled.

"You know that robot thing that apparently dropped me? Yeah, that "bird" of yours is like that!" at those words I saw her own eyes widen and she jumped out of the strange ship to join me. We stared at it for a moment longer before she turned to me.

"How do you know it's a robot?"

"Because the metal plating is warm... Like Starscream's..."

"Starscream?" she looked rather flabbergasted as I nodded. "That's that other one's... name?"

"I think that's what the pilots called it," I said with a sigh. "I wasn't really paying them much attention... we were flying through the air, seated on the thing's hand, and it didn't really seem very stable at the time..." It had been the subject of experimentation after all, and I was under the impression it had been injured before hand as well. "And I've only seen it the one time until it happened to pick me up mid battle..."

The woman was watching me curiously, obviously wanting to know more information, but I instead moved forward toward the white monster and touched the external plating. It wasn't as warm on the outside as it was inside, and it was no where near the temperature Starscream's external plating had been in my memory...

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking to see if... he's ok," I replied, running a hand under the large wing. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I figured I'd find something if I kept searching.

"Is... are they good guys then?" she was beside me before I could blink and she moved to tap the under carriage. To my amazement, it shifted slightly, seeming to "open" at her unspoken command. There seemed to be a strange casing there, blue in color, almost glowing with its own light.

"Uh, well, Starscream hasn't killed me yet... I don't think there is a good or bad side in all of this..." the casing was hot, but soft. I shuddered. I was touching an alien's insides... gross.

"I was wondering why this thing was acting up on me," her voice was soft and I turned to glance at her. She glanced back with a shrug. "I've been flying it for a month now, and this was the combat "test". This was also the first time I've ever had trouble controlling it. I figured it was just bad turbulence. But now, I have to wonder. You think that Starscream and this guy know each other?"

"Probably. If they're both aliens it makes sense they would..." I gasped, earning another look of confusion. "You said he collapsed... what happened?"

Her words had finally hit me. Starscream must have been injured. He wasn't exactly nice, but he hadn't killed me outright... If he collapsed, he could be in trouble.

"Nitro-bombs," she said, understanding written over her expression. "That's what the boys were shooting at him. Bombs filled with liquid nitrogen. They were also shooting sabot rounds... He went down after they retreated..."

Both of us screamed when the white ship's panneling suddenly shifted back into its original position. "It's never... done that before..."

"If it's sentient, be prepared for that happening a _lot_..." I sighed, quirking a brow at the ship. "Where did you say Starscream was?"

"The ravine about five minutes that way," she replied, pointing behind me. "It hasn't moved at all last I checked. I can bring it up on the radar screen..." she trailed off, having obviously connected the same dots I did. She shuddered as well. "Probably better to just get the exercise... I don't want to fiddle around with alien guts any more than I apparently already have..."

I nodded, turning in the direction she pointed and I patted the side paneling... and I froze. The metal wasn't warm any more. In fact, it felt suddenly very cold, and the white exterior seemed almost gray now.

_**S/N : So, I have another random female character. She came out of nowhere, just as Alexis did. So, this wasn't as bad as I initially thought it was going to end up. I foresaw that chapter being much darker than this. I like it though, mostly. Let me know what you think. We're not much further from the end now.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N : Woo, a new chappie! Who would have thought it? I realized what a horrible cliff hanger I left this on and I felt really bad. Oops… I think you guys will all forgive me with this chapter though. With the way this spun, I think the story grew a few extra chapters… XD I have no qualms against that, if y'all don't.**_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And thank you all for waiting patiently.**_

My systems ached.

I felt dirt and ice covering me in spots I really didn't wish to think about. How had I ended up down here? And why was I still here? Surely I'd have been picked up by someone... enemy or friend, it didn't matter. My chronometer indicated I'd been offline for several hours.

Judging by my damage, I'd been in battle. My memory was still in the process of booting up completely, indicating it was still damaged... and then it hit me. I had been flying toward that signal. I had encountered... Skyfire. He was alive. He was on Earth. He was free.

It became a mantra in my processor. I couldn't really think past it as the rest of my systems re-booted. Skyfire was alive... here... flying around...

I had to find him.

Scouting through where I assumed I'd gone down and referencing it to where he'd crashed... I attempted to get to my feet. My wings weren't counteracting my balance, sending me toppling over before I even had a chance to comprehend the problem. Warnings danced in my vision.

Ice had lodged, deep within my body, crimping connections vital to flight and movement capabilities. Self Repair was already working on the damage, but I was still too cold to take care of the damage properly. "Slag it all." I coaxed myself into trying to sit up, leaning against a small, rather tough bundle of trees.

I supposed I could wait a bit longer for my systems to warm up a bit more. I hadn't seen Skyfire in what felt like forever... another few hours wouldn't hurt anything. He would probably be up and about before me anyway at this rate... or he should have been. Unless the squishies had messed him up further than I first believed...

Entirely possible, and not something I wanted to dwell on. It made me want to simply find him all the more, and I couldn't. Not yet. I could only wait.

Waiting is probably the worst thing in the known universe.

Sitting around in the middle of nowhere allowed for me to just think. My memory cortex, now that I had the ability to examine it, didn't seem any further damaged than it had been, which, I was immensely thankful for. I didn't exactly know what was lost, but I didn't want any more to disappear… I didn't want to forget even the worst of my lingering memories.

The Earth sky was dark, stars shining brightly from their places in the horizon. One thing I truly missed about Cybertron was that the stars had no blockade and shone much brighter than the Earth creatures could imagine. But Cybertron… It had probably completely died at this point, leaving me and any others homeless.

Earth was now, effectively, our only home. As our outposts and stations across the Galaxy had been long ravaged by war… This was the only place the war had seemingly not touched too severely on.

Depressing thought.

The sound of crunching terrain reached me and I spun my helm in the direction it came from. Two humans, both female, stared up at me with wide eyes. One, I recognized as the tiny femme from before. The other, I couldn't place. Something was familiar about her however.

"Well whaddaya know?" the new female commented, slack jawed. I growled quietly, glaring at her. "I guess it wasn't as damaged as I thought it was."

"Starscream, are you ok?" the other one asked me. I didn't know if I truly wanted to answer her or not. Truly, I would be fine given a bit more time, and she looked more than worse for wear, sorting a large bruise on her forehead and a pale complexion.

"I'm fine squishy."

Ever the diplomat, I know.

"Hey," the other woman stated suddenly, "Your friend thing? It's not doin so hot… You might wanna come take a look…" those words froze my spark, and I realized why she seemed so familiar… she had been the human flying Skyfire against his will. It had been her heart beat I had picked up.

Anger surged through my lines at the revelation, and I wanted nothing more than to step on the femme for her actions. Unfortunately, both humans were just out of my reach, and my wings still weren't calibrating my weight correctly. "Foolish human!" I opted for shouting instead. "Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"I didn't before, but I do now," she shot back, unperturbed by my malice. "And I don't know a thing about you guys, but Alexis here thinks that the fact it's outer shell is cool and graying is a bad sign. So I dunno, get off your ass and maybe I can try and fix this eh?"

Cool and grey. Never a good combination for Cybertronians… That meant Skyfire's spark was fading, or had already faded. My hope crashed as this processed. I had _just_ gotten him back…

"Aren't you coming?" Alexis shouted at me, already turned to leave. Her small eyes were wide in panic, and now that I focused on her, her breathing was shallow and her heart jumping irregularly.

If Skyfire had dulled, there was nothing I could do to help him now. But… I couldn't just… not try… after everything, I couldn't keep from going to him. I couldn't let him pass without… doing _something_.

I pulled myself upright, spreading my legs in a poor attempt to stay that way. The humans seemed to understand I wasn't going to carry them, as they both turned and ran the way they'd come, occasionally glancing back at me. My movements were much slower than even theirs, but it didn't matter, so long as I _got_ there.

It took ten minutes for me to get where it should have been five minutes… less if I were flying. I had to stop regularly to regain my balance, but the moment Skyfire's form came into view, I cycled, deep. He was dulling, and I could almost feel his spark sputtering in a weak attempt to stay online.

I hurried over as best as I could, tapping along his undercarriage. At first, I wondered if I perhaps had forgotten how to access his spark chamber, as the panels didn't automatically shift on my askance. I hummed his name in our language, tapping it once more. Skyfire was the most trusting mech I had ever known. He would always open his chamber if I asked him too (normally due to him needing a repair or two), without any sort of suspicion.

It was something I had always teased him for, but I admired him greatly for it at the same time. It had also gotten him out of a few close calls, and this would hopefully not be too different. He had to pull through…

He wasn't too far gone after all.

It slid apart roughly, and I shuddered at the faint light the chamber was displaying. His spark was so close to offlining… Without thinking, I parted my canopy, exposing my own spark to the humans, who shied away in response, and connected us both as I tried to sharing my own energy with him.

It took a lot of effort and I felt utterly drained, but his spark brightened, and his white frame seemed to regain its healthy sheen. Wings twitched slightly beside me, and I heard a faint chirp, suspiciously sounding like a muddled version of my name, to which I let out an automatic response.

I could hear his systems coming online once more, and I could feel his confusion through my make-shift connection. I was certain he could feel my relief in return as well. I hadn't lost him after all. I almost had… his reserves had been so far depleted, it was a miracle… but he was still with me.

That alone made me feel… giddy.

I chirped and whistled at him with unrestrained happiness. Surely, it would confuse him, as I rarely showed my true feelings, even when we knew each other long ago… But I really didn't care. I chattered at him incessantly, as he continued to regain his strength.

Hours passed by and the night sky soon began to change color, signaling the approaching dawn. Skyfire was still in need of repairs, and both of us were exhausted, but I knew we needed to move. The enemy force would probably attack me once more at first light… and at my current status… being that I couldn't stand very well, even with my wings beginning to respond, I certainly wouldn't be able to fight back with any sort of efficiency.

"Skyfire," I called over our communications channel, long dormant in the past. I shivered at the responding ping.

"Starscream…" his tones were music to me. I couldn't contain the twitch of my wings.

"Skyfire, what is your damage status? Are you able to fly?" I asked. I wanted nothing more than to just… talk to him. Talk with him about everything that had happened since his disappearance… but our borrowed time allotment wouldn't allow for it.

"I believe so. My energy is critically low, but we've flown with worse… Starscream… how long was I… buried in the ice?"

I cringed back, ignoring the human females, who had woken from their sleep at the sound of a close coyote not an hour before. They were watching us curiously, I knew. Skyfire had yet to shift out of his Alt form, and I hadn't moved much since hooking myself up to him.

"Ice…" I clicked, drawing together a few blanks. Skyfire had in fact crashed here… and from what I could assume, somewhere in the Arctic Circle. Ironic that Megatron had caged himself there as well. "Skyfire, I don't know exactly how long… Many long vorns have passed since you disappeared… So the humans found you?"

"Humans?" curiousity and a small amount of fear. "I believe so. I've been a prisoner for several breems…"

Prisoner. That word was one I should have been expecting, but it filled me with rage to hear anyway. My friend hadn't deserved what the humans had seemingly thrown at him… They would pay.

But first, we needed to return to base and fix ourselves up. And see how the battle ended…

I had forgotten that I had left my human allies in the midst of a firefight…

"Skyfire, we must retreat to a safer place. Our enemies will be here soon. If you think you can, follow me." I disconnected from Skyfire and folded down into my alt form, whistling to the humans. "You'd best enter human, before I decide you're not worth my time and leave you both stranded."

Why was I taking pity on the one who had hurt Skyfire?

They both hurried toward us, Alexis clambering up my wing with more grace than I'd believed her capable of, and the other toward Skyfire's hold. She hesitated however, an odd expression on her fleshy face. "Sorry about… well… you know… mind if I hitch a ride? You can do the steering."

Skyfire pinged me in question, obviously not understanding a word the human had uttered. "She is asking if you can… "give her a lift". If you can, ping the satellites and servers and learn what you can about the human's language." Why he would want too, I couldn't fathom… but it would be easier than having me translate. A blip of acknowledgement followed.

"Get in human," I growled. "Touch anything and I'll see to it you pay dearly." I was satisfied when a tiny sound hit my audios… a gulp. I had scared her.

Big bad evil Decepticon after all.

Without any further delay, both my friend and I ascended into the dark horizon. Skyfire followed slightly behind me, and I relished the feeling of having him back. If I hadn't known better, it seemed as if he had never left. That we were still on our mission to find energy resources and scientific venues…

The additional presence of the humans thwarted the feeling however, as did the shuttle's odd shuddering here and there. My own frame spazzed with an odd rhythm. We were both so tired… so energy depleted…

But we were together, and that was enough to keep us both airborne the entirety of our journey back home.

_**S/N : I think this is the shortest of my chapters thus far, and for that I am truly sorry. As I was typing this and rereading a few aspects of the chapter, I realized the following; I have no idea how "spazzed" or "spasmed" is spelled, and apparently neither does my computer… so I winged it on that… and the next was that I have been reading far too much BS and SS from Starseeded. "Big bad evil Decepticon" is one of the recurring quotes in both stories, and I believe I've started picking up that habbit… I do hope Starseeded doesn't get mad at me. XD**_


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